Former Stampeder Glenn Love Jr. diagnosed with ALS

Former Calgary Stampeder Glenn Love Jr. always took pride in how good of shape he was in, which is why it was so shocking when he was diagnosed with ALS.

Glenn Love Jr. played in the CFL from 2012 to 2019.

Three of those seasons were with the Calgary Stampeders.

The highlight was winning the Grey Cup with the Stamps in 2014.

Love says he grew to love Canada’s game.

“We weren’t thinking about the CFL,” he said. “But when I came up here I just saw how much love and affection and the players played so hard. It was a faster-paced game, and I was like, ‘This game I can kind of do.’”

ALS diagnosis

Love faced many battles when he was on the football field, and now he’s in for the fight of his life.

A year-and-a-half ago, the 35-year-old noticed something wasn’t right with his left shoulder.

“I was just having like a little twitch,” he explained. “My friend saw it when I was training at the gym, and I was like, ‘Maybe I’m just dehydrated or working too much or whatever.’ I didn’t really pay attention to it.”

But the twitching didn’t stop, it spread into his arm, chest and other shoulder.

Love was seeing several doctors and specialists to try and find out what was wrong.

He says eventually an ALS doctor gave him the bad news.

“He sits me down and is like, ‘I’m going to be brutally honest with you, have your ever heard of ALS?’ I said ‘yep’ and he says ‘I think you might have it.’”

There is no cure for ALS.

Because Love works as a stuntman and keeps himself in great shape, doctors have given him three to five years to live.

His daughter BelleVie is just a year-and-a-half old, and Love says that’s what makes this diagnosis so hard.

“I promised myself not to cry today,” he said. “But yeah, my daughter (is the toughest thing.)”

Family and friends helping out

Love’s family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help him out with his treatments.

Love is hoping that can help extend his life so he can spend more time with his daughter.

“I have a great circle around me,” he said. ”My sisters and my mom and dad, friends in the athletic community and friends in the stunt communityf they all kind of collaborated together to do this.”

For more information on Love’s journey with ALS, you can visit his Instagram page.