muscles slowly degenerate. they die. >> reporter: when i met steve and his wife michelle at their new orleans home in march, i was struck by just how young and how beautiful they are. their playful relationship and his flirtacious smile. >> he was just like this big heman, strong guy and he's still strong in certain places but it's a huge contrast. >> reporter: two years into the disease, steve is paralyzed, and uses his synthetic voice to speak for him. >> it has not been easy. >> reporter: steve recently was thrust into the spotlight after three atlanta radio deejays mocked him using a fake automated voice as his own. >> knock knock. >> who's there. >> smother. >> smother who? >> smother me. do me a favor. >> reporter: the deejays were fired and apologized to steve later. steve issued a statement saying "received and accepted. we have all made mistakes in this life. how we learn from our mistakes