Share to ClassroomChris Johnson Reveals He Has ALS
Chris Johnson is a former American football star. He is now 40 years old. He says he has ALS. ALS is a serious brain and nerve disease. It has no cure. Doctors found it last year. It started with a weak right hand. Now he talks with a machine that follows his eyes.
ALS slowly harms the nerve cells that control movement. Over time, people can not walk, speak, eat or breathe. Johnson's disease does not come from his family. Scientists still do not know the real cause. One study looked at more than 19,000 football players. They were almost four times more likely to get ALS.
Johnson hopes his story will help doctors find ALS earlier. He says the disease changed his body but not his mind. Other famous people also had ALS. About 33,000 Americans have ALS today. No medicine can stop it.
