01/26/2012 0 Comments Contact Our News Editors

By Matt Schoch

After more than a month of rest, Howard Bell began a fight for his life on Tuesday.

Last month, the Glendale High School baseball coach was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- also known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- after losing about 50 pounds and going in for a November spinal fusion.

Rehabilitation to regain strength began for Bell on Tuesday.

"I haven't been able to do anything, they told me absolutely no exercise," he said Tuesday before his appointment. "They put a cage and a couple rods and screws to hold my vertebrae.

"And, as you know, if you don't use it, you lose it. I'm anxious to get back into shape."

Bell, 48, who has been head coach at Glendale since 2005, is a 1982 Parkview graduate and is a former star shortstop at Missouri State University. He was also drafted by the New York Mets.

ALS -- which was nicknamed after Gehrig, the legendary New York Yankees slugger -- is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association.

According to the advocacy group, half of those affected live at least three years or more after diagnosis. About one-in-five people live five years or more, and up to 10 percent will survive more than 10 years.

Friends of the Bell family are putting together fundraisers to help contribute to family medical costs.

Bell plans to attend the events and is looking forward to spending time with supporters.

"I'll be in there around family and friends every chance I get," Bell said. "We've actually been overwhelmed with family and friends. There's a lot of people out there praying and thinking of us.

"It's been great. I feel like we've been blessed with being around so many good people so many years."

Bell, who has been with the Glendale program since 1991, said he expects to resume teaching and coaching duties after a checkup with a surgeon in late February.

"I won't be hitting fungos or anything like that, but things aren't really going to change," Bell said. "I plan on going back and getting to work."