Kevin Turner continues battle with ALS

By now, you probably know the story of ex-Eagle Kevin Turner.

A couple newspapers - the Montgomery Advertiser and The Boston Globe - wrote about Turner and his battle with ALS last summer.

The Inquirer's Mike Jensen wrote about Turner in Sepetember. And Bernard Fernandez of the Daily News provided an update in November.

The latest writer to catch up with him is ESPN.com's Tim Graham. Turner, who said he knew of only two concussions he suffered in the NFL, described one of them that was sustained on a kickoff return against the Packers in 1997.

"The next thing I remember," Turner told Graham, "I was asking our backup quarterback, Bobby Hoying, 'You're going to think I'm crazy, but are we in Green Bay or are we in Philly?' I was looking around that stadium and could not figure it out.

"I stayed out for two, maybe three series of downs, got my senses back and finished the game. It was a fairly significant injury to my brain, and I just kept pounding on it."

Turner has trouble with many daily activities nowadays.

"It's quite a different way of life," Turner said. "It's pretty embarrassing, but cleaning yourself after going to the bathroom becomes very difficult when you can't use your hands. These are just things you don't think about.

"You have to be very creative. I can't pull down my zipper. I got what I call zipper-getters. It's a little hook with some fishing wire that goes around the zipper of my pants so you can go to the bathroom."

Turner has a foundation to raise awareness about sports-related injuries and ALS.

Even if you've read the previous coverage on Turner, Graham's piece is still worth your time.

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