EyeTech Digital Systems

Former East Carolina football star Chris Johnson disclosed his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis during a interview on Good Morning America. The ex-Tennessee Titans running back received the diagnosis in 2025 at 39 after he spotted weakness in his right hand.

The illness has progressed so fast that Johnson, now 40, relies on an AAC speech-generating device operated by his eyes. Doctors captured his voice before he lost the power to talk, so the device replicates his natural sound.

"I want people to know that I'm still me," Johnson said to Good Morning America. "ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn't changed who I am."

💙 This is why eye-gaze AAC matters. At Eyetech, we believe your voice belongs to you — even when the way you use it changes.