Tomas Bennett, 52, who teaches history at Freedom High School in Orlando, dismisses his class Thursday. He received a Teacher of the Year award in November. (ROBERTO GONZALEZ, ORLANDO SENTINEL / October 11, 2007)

Darryl E. Owens | COMMENTARY
October 13, 2007

As a longtime Yankees fan, Tomas Bennett always felt a special connection with Lou Gehrig. Having thrice watched the Gehrig biopic, The Pride of the Yankees, Bennett admired the Hall of Famer's humility, commitment and passion for his profession -- a work ethic that Bennett shared in his own line of work.

Whenever he walked into the classroom and led explorations into history, Bennett, like the Yankees icon, considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Even after 21 years of teaching, little has changed except that Bennett, 52, now putters into class on a borrowed motorized wheelchair, his wobbly legs ravaged by the ruthless disease that claimed the life and name of the legendary Yankees slugger.



The condition revealed itself in November when Bennett stepped to the podium at Freedom High School in Orlando to accept his Teacher of the Year award, the second of his career. He tripped awkwardly on a power cord, as though he was unable to lift his toes high enough.

"He made a joke about him falling," recalls Principal Mark Brown, "but some of us had noticed he was starting to look frail."

Protocol mandated a doctor visit. Tests revealed nothing to explain the lingering soreness and swelling in his ankle. But a therapist grew concerned when Bennett couldn't flex his foot. In March, a neurologist tested Bennett's nervous system.

The results were conclusive.

"Is it three strikes, Doc?" Gehrig asked in the film.

It's three strikes for the teacher, too.

"The shock was not that I had the disease -- that was bad enough. But when you say you'll be an invalid, that you wouldn't be able to use your motor skills, that shocked me the most," Bennett said.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States, is a neurological condition that destroys nerve cells that govern voluntary muscles, according to MayoClinic.com. Gehrig died in 1941, two years after his diagnosis; most people live two to five years.

From a gradual twitching or weakness in the limbs, or slurred speech, the disease eventually claims the ability to move, speak, eat and, ultimately, breathe. But it spares the intellect. And the human spirit.

"I may have had a tough break," Gehrig said in his farewell speech, "but I have an awful lot to live for."

Bennett, too, had a choice: He could retire and die with grace, or he could live to grace others.

"I enjoy everything about teaching, the interaction between the students, the give-and-take. It's what I love to do. It's just good therapy," he said.

So he bought a cane and took a whack at it. And Freedom went to bat for him. He was switched to a downstairs classroom. A faculty member lent him a motorized wheelchair to use on campus. Within a week after he revealed his condition, the school scrambled to throw a fundraiser.

Kids sold red "Strike Out ALS" bracelets and staged a concert. Their efforts and a silent auction raised $12,400 for the ALS Association of Florida, a grand testament to Bennett.

And Bennett, who has taught every jot and tittle of world history, understands the life lessons he's now offering his students. "Perseverance, patience and faith play an important role. Maintaining a positive attitude in spite of what's going on in your life, not dwelling on it, walking around with a sad face," he says.

Those are lessons that his students will remember for their lifetimes.

Darryl E. Owens can be reached at dowens@orlandosentinel.comor 407-420-5095.
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