Neuro Note #3

   For this Neuro Note, I chose to watch the documentary Gleason. This documentary followed a retired NFL player, Steve Gleason, throughout his journey with ALS. In this documentary, we see everything from the diagnosis to where he is currently. The film starts off with an introduction to who Steve is, including many football clips. We are introduced to Steve’s wife, Michel, very early on. We learn more about them and what Steve’s interests are. Michel and Steve love to travel and are all about adventure. When first seeing Steve, the doctors suggest that it could be a variety of different things: molecular problems, mechanical problems, a ruptured/bulging disc (typical for a football player) or calcification in the vertebrae. However, they soon find out that is it ALS, a neurological disease. Steve quickly begins showing more and more symptoms, including an awkward gait. Steve and Michel soon learn that Michel is pregnant only 6 weeks after Steve’s diagnosis. Steve wants to make sure he is still the best father he can be and begins journals for his future baby. Four months after the diagnosis, we can start to see Steve have more symptoms. He can still run and swim but not as well as he used to, and he also needs to be lifted out of the water because he does not have as much strength as he used to. Even though the onset of symptoms is coming on quickly, Steve and Michel still make sure that Steve’s quality of life is maintained, they decide to go on a 2-month (15,000 mile) road trip to Alaska. Steve gets to do a lot on the trip like fishing and aircraft rides. However, we can see that Steve’s speech is not as clear as it used to be. We see more and more struggles as Steve’s ALS progresses, such as not being able to run. Throughout Steve’s journey, he has done his best to stay positive. In fact, Steve Gleason has started a foundation called “Team Gleason”. Through “Team Gleason”, Steve wants to help provide advanced technology, advanced equipment, and also provide people with a purpose. 

   I chose to watch Gleason after one of my classmate’s presented her case study to us. I learned that others in the class had also watched it and strongly recommended it. I remember doing the ALS ice bucket challenge in high school but did not really know anything about ALS. Since ALS is a progressive disease, I wanted to see it through another person’s experience and perspective. I believe that watching this documentary provided me with more knowledge and ideas about ALS and therapeutic interventions. 

    To further my learning, I took notes on various things that I saw while watching the documentary and compared it to my note-taking guide for ALS. ALS can cause atrophy, which is wasting away of the muscles. With Steve, I could see atrophy in both his UE and LE. Steve’s UE atrophy was easier to see physically because you could see his shoulders and arms get considerably small. In his LE, I could tell he experienced atrophy because he eventually had to use a powered wheelchair because his muscles could no longer support him. I also saw a lot of things associated with his upper motor neurons. Steve had trouble speaking, eating, and swallowing. Over time, he also had to use a ventilator while he was sleeping. The average life expectancy for ALS is 2-5 years but Steve is still living today, a total of 8 years later. He was diagnosed with ALS at 34 years old, so he is a bit under the average age of diagnosis (40 to 70). Steve has also had both surgical interventions to help with his ALS: the gastrostomy tube and the tracheotomy. Steve received his tracheotomy after having a hard time clearing mucus from his lungs. Without the tracheotomy, Steve only had a couple of weeks to live. Seeing this documentary also allowed me to see how important caregiver education is. Until they hired help, Michel cared for Steve and it was really hard on her, physically and mentally. It also made me realize in a more general scheme how important it is to maintain quality of life! Throughout the documentary, I saw Steve get agitated and depressed. His body does not allow him to do the things he wants but it does not mean that he should never get to do them. Steve’s family has made sure to try to enhance his quality of life in as many ways as possible, including making sure he still got to go to the lake, enjoy spending time with friends and family, and also still be able to work with his foundation! I really enjoyed this documentary and all the insight it gave about ALS. I have learned things that will help me with future patients who may have ALS. 

Tweel, C. (Director). (2016). Gleason [Video file]. USA: Amazon Studios. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Gleason-Steve/dp/B01I2BH290