Behind every difficult diagnosis is a family trying to hold on to hope while navigating a future they never imagined. As former Wolverine Thomas Gordon faces a serious fight for his health, his loved ones are trying to secure financial support for the battle. His family shared his story online to gather as much support and love for his speedy recovery.

According to the Detroit News, Thomas Gordon, who is 35 and a former Michigan defensive back, has been living with an ALS diagnosis. The family has set up a GoFundMe to help Gordon through the journey with a target of $200k. So far, over $55k has been raised. The couple is college sweethearts who are happily married and now have 3 kids.

Gordon, a Michigan native, played for the Wolverines from 2010 to 2013. He featured in 47 games for the Wolverines, including 38 starts. During that period, the DB had 229 total tackles, including 11.7 TDLs. Following brief stints in the pros, Gordon turned towards coaching.

The family’s life took a drastic turn when Gordon was 31 and was working as an assistant college football strength coach at Georgia Tech. That’s when doctors diagnosed him with sporadic ALS. Gordon began to feel that something was wrong with his body in 2021.

One night, he woke up with extreme pain in his left calf. He brushed it off, thinking it was just a minor leg cramp. He used the recovery knowledge he once learned as an athlete to release the leg cramp. As an athlete, you see many more painful injuries, so Gordon eventually did not suspect anything worse.

Even after pulling every trick in the book, the pain did not go away as he expected. Then his worst nightmare began as he started losing muscle strength. Gradually, he started struggling with small movements that were common in day-to-day life. Even putting the keys in the lock became a difficult task for him.

The real scare came in when Gordon started losing weight unintentionally. His body was gradually weakening as he struggled to lift even an 11 kg dumbbell. That’s when the couple knew that they needed to seek medical attention. After Thomas’s first consultation with a neurologist, Shamaree was asked to join him for his next appointment.

“And he dropped that bombshell on us,” Thomas said, as reported by the Detroit News. “We were sitting in the parking lot, like, nah, this can’t be. It’s wrong. It’s no way. And we kind of just shrugged it off, really, and just got back to it. Life kept going. She had to get back to work. I did, too.”

How has Thomas Gordon’s life changed ever since his diagnosis?

The Gordons have been figuring out a way to have hope ever since the diagnosis and still enjoy their lives with their family. As for Thomas, he went through many changes. A defensive back who once weighed around 200lbs dropped to 130lbs. He is now stuck in a custom power wheelchair and needs help with almost every single task.

Gordon breathes through a portable ventilator to support his lungs. However, he still shows remarkable resilience and hasn’t given up. As much as he can, he tries to do things independently.

“I’m kind of sort of in the same boat,” Thomas said as reported by the Detroit News, agreeing with his wife about letting faith grow. “Your belief begins to build; nothing can really rock you anymore. I shout all these terms about it’s going to progressively get worse, and death is imminent – all these phrases, but we’ve just been so locked in lately in our faith. It’s like, whatever. What’s next?”

As for three of their kids, the older kids are also in sports. Falyn participates in volleyball and cheerleading, while TJ enjoys several sports. Gordon usually coaches them in the backyard so he can still be a part of their journey despite his limitations. Gordon still reminisces about his time at Michigan when he watches his former program play on TV. After a lot of pushing from their friends and family, they finally decided to start a GoFundMe page.

“For months, we were like, ‘No,’ until it’s finally to a point where we are, and we’re happy that we did,” Shamaree told the Detroit News. “But it definitely took some vulnerability that we were not ready for for quite some time.”

You can access the donation page here.