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ON FEB. 7, 2018, 33-year-old Randel McCoy sits in his car, alone, in an empty parking lot. He’s processing the life-changing news he has just heard, contemplating a world in which he will slowly lose everything — his strength, his freedom, his life. Through tears, he reaches for his cellphone. He calls his brother. Then he dials the person he knows he can’t do this without, despite having known her for only six months.
Brianna LaFontaine, a daughter of New York Islanders legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine, grew up in the seaside hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Randel was raised by his mother, a hairdresser in a nearby town. Their paths converged after college: He was an assistant coach on the high school wrestling team where Brianna grew up, and she was a special education teacher at a neighboring school. They met in a chance encounter through a mutual friend and soon became inseparable.
For six months, it has never been difficult for Randel to pick up the phone to call Brianna. It’s the best part of his day. But this call, from the parking lot, is different. When Brianna answers, Randel is beside himself. She can’t understand him as he struggles to catch his breath. When he finally finds the words, it still isn’t much more than three letters.
ALS.
WRESTLING MEETS ARE loud. You can hear everything and nothing at the same time. The shouts of parents trying to will their children to victory bounce off the walls and merge with the grunts of athletes exerting themselves to their limits. For Randel — Coach Rans, as his wrestlers call him — the symphony can be a challenge. His voice isn’t as crisp as it used to be, but it’s as purposeful and impactful as ever.
“He would say ‘You got six minutes in a match. You don’t know how much time you have in your life, but you got to give it your all, all the time,” says Jacob Bruno, a former Cold Spring Harbor…
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Source : espn
