Former NFL running back Chris Johnson has been diagnosed with ALS and has lost the ability to speak.
The 40-year-old sportsman was diagnosed with the progressive neurogenerative disorder last year, after showing certain symptoms such as weakness in his right hand which he and wife Brittany initially put down to wear and tear from his football career.
Speaking on Good Morning America, Chris said: “At first it was little things like my grip didn’t feel right, and I wasn’t as strong as I’d always been.”
Brittany added: “I thought because of football and his career that it has to be something with that. Maybe a pinched nerve or something along those lines, but never ALS.”
But after a string of tests, Chris — who has four kids with his wife — was diagnosed with sporadic ALS, the most common form of the disease, which occurs in people with no known family history.
He said: “We hoped it was something else, but after the third testing, they finally came down with a diagnosis of ALS.
“They told us about a medication that might extend life by a few months. Then they told us to get our affairs in order.
“It was hard hearing that..
“That’s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking. It can happen to someone who never expected it.”
The former Tennessee Titans player’s condition has progressed so rapidly since his diagnosis, he now uses a speech-generating device controlled by his eyes to communicate, with doctors having recorded his voice before he lost the ability to communicate verbally, so that the software still sounds like him.
He said: “It’s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined. I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body. Just over a year ago I was picking up my seven-year-old daughter so she could make a wish with her birthday cake. Today, I couldn’t do that.”
But Chris insisted he is still the same person he always was.
He said: “I want people to know that I’m still me. ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am…
“My mind stays sharp. People sometimes look at the physical disability and assume you’re not the same person. I still think the same. I still dream. I still love my family. My body just doesn’t co-operate.”
Chris is determined to keep fighting, and the family are hoping for a miracle.
He said: “Honestly, I don’t know if you ever fully process it. At first you’re in shock, then you realise you have two choices: you can give up, or you can fight. I chose to fight.
“Seeing how hard these doctors and researchers are working gives me hope. As long as they’re fighting for people with ALS, I’m going to keep fighting too.”
Brittany added: “The life that we previously had is now a thing of the past. But we’re still hopeful. We’re hopeful that a breakthrough will happen or that God, a miracle will happen.”
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