(Image via teamgleason.org)
Raising ALS Awareness One Step at a Time
In our last blog post, we talked about Steve Gleason and how he challenged Microsoft to design an eye-controlled wheelchair. Well, besides making a huge impact from encouraging and challenging new technology to allow typing with your eyes and an eye-controlled wheelchair, Steve Gleason continues to raise awareness for ALS in many ways. He will always be remembered for his remarkable blocked punt that became a symbolic moment for New Orleans, but his devotion for others suffering from ALS like himself has become his passion. So he decided to start his own organization called Team Gleason.
Team Gleason is committed to finding a cure to ALS, but also finding ways to handle living with it, but without limitations. The organization works toward enhancing the lives of those with ALS by providing advanced technology, planning adventures and events and raising awareness around the world to find a cure.
Adventures
Planned adventures include white water rafting in Italy, cruising the Panama Canal, canoeing the Missouri River, attending sporting events like the Superbowl, a trip to Machu Picchu, and attending music festivals. Steve believes that having ALS shouldn’t keep you bound away from adventures, which is why Team Gleason provides a way for adventures like these to be possible, with or without a used handicap van.
A recent adventure they took was a 7-day trek across Peru in 2013. The team started in Lima and ended in Machu Picch.. Along their way, they visited Cusco, the village of Pisac and Urubamba. Throughout the journey, they got around by numerous bus rides, two train rides, seven flights by plane, and ten miles of hiking. The Qoricancha Temple, the Inca Fortress of Sacsayhuaman and the ruins of Ollantaytambo are just a few of the monuments they visited. The group had the experience of a lifetime as they experienced the amazing views and landscapes of Peru and hiked the Incan Trail
The Gleason House
The organization also has a new innovative living facility, The Gleason House. The Gleason House is meant to “encourage living with a purpose by creating an atmosphere that is not only inspiring, but innovative.” It encourages productivity and living more independently while living with ALS.
Join the Team
So, as the Team Gleason slogan says, “let’s put our heads together and find a cure for ALS”. Join the team by participating in upcoming events and/or by donating to the Gleason Initiative Foundation or the Gleason Family Trust.