Ilkin diagnosed with ALS, plans to 'fight'

Tunch Ilkin revealed Thursday that he has been diagnosed a week ago with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Ilkin, the Steelers' former right tackle and still the team's radio color commentator, made the diagnosis public in a video interview done for The Bible Chapel, a non-denominational church with locations throughout the Pittsburgh region, where he's the Pastor of Men's Ministry:

Doctors at UPMC made Ilkin's initial diagnosis, then sent him to the Cleveland Clinic, where the diagnosis was confirmed.

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the wasting away of muscle and loss of movement. According to the ALS Therapy Development Institute, there are an estimated 30,000 people in the United States living with ALS at any given time, most people live 3-5 years after the first sign of the disease, and 10 percent live at least 10 years.

Ilkin acknowledged experiencing headaches and other physical discomfort as long as a year ago.

"I want to fight this thing," Ilkin spoke in the video to Ron Moore, Senior Pastor at The Bible Chapel. "With the help of Jehovah Rapha, the Lord, my healer, with the help of God. You know, I'm not gonna lie down and take this lightly. I'm working out four days a week. I'm walking. My prayer walk, an hour every morning. I'm jumping on my mini-trampoline for a half-hour every day."

Asked about his current symptoms, Ilkin replied, "Early in the morning, my arms are tired, my hands are tired. But as the day goes on, I start getting more energetic. It's a challenge for me in the morning. It's a challenge for me because I'm on medication that makes me tired in mid-morning. But after lunch, I start picking up steam. There are times I get fatigued, and there are times I get energetic."

Ilkin added that he and Jon Kolb, another former Steelers offensive lineman, went for a prayer walk together Thursday through Mount Washington.

A month ago, our Tom Reed profiled Ilkin and Craig Wolfley, his best friend and broadcasting partner, for DK Pittsburgh Sports.

Two weeks before that, I sat with Tunch and Wolf to watch a day of the Steelers' training camp at Heinz Field -- socially distanced, but just the three of us in that section -- and I was reminded in that time of how much I'd missed being around both of them, hearing them finish each other's sentences, seeing them make the kind of knowing eye contact only brothers experience. I'm blessed for all the experiences I've had with both, together and separately, as they're every bit as beautiful as you might assume.

There'll be many more of those. I'm sure of it.

The ALS Association has a page where we can all contribute to Tunch's fight.