john volunteered to be one of the first people in the united states to participate in an operation to inject stem cells directly into his spine. it s called a phase one clinical trial. this is the first step. no one knows what will happen. here s how john got to this place. two years ago i was running, playing golf. and then gradually, literally, he began to lose it. started tripping and kind of like we thought it was like a foot drop and started catching my foot on bricks and curbs and started losing my balance initially and then developed a limp in my right leg. i lost the dexterity and can t button buttons, can t tie shoes. i can kick a little bit but i can t really pick my legs up. john has als. it s better known as lou gehrig s disease.
admiration and respect for being willing to do this for the greater good. reporter: the greater good. you see, john has volunteered to be one of the first people in the united states to participate in an operation to inject stem cells directly into his spine. it s called a phase one clinical trial. this is the first step. no one knows what will happen. here s how john got to this place. two years ago i was running, playing golf. reporter: gradually, literally, he began to lose it. i started tripping and kind of like a foot drop and started catching my foot on bricks and curbs and started losing my balance initially. and then developed a limp in my right leg. i lost the decks airty where you can t button buttons, tie shoes. i can kick a little bit, but i can t really pick my legs up.
willing to do this for the greater good. reporter: the greater good. you see, john has volunteered to be one of the first people in the united states to participate in an operation to inject stem cells directly into the spine. it s called a phase one clinical trial. this is the first step. no one knows what will happen. here s how john got to this place. a few years ago i was running, playing golf. reporter: and then gradually, literally, he began to lose it. started tripping, foot drop and started catching my foot on bricks and curbs and started losing my balance initially and then developed a limp in my right leg. i ve lost the dexterity, where you can t button buttons and tie shows. i can kick a little bit but can t really pick my legs up. reporter: john has als,
no one knows what will happen. here s how john got to this place. two years ago i was running, playing golf. reporter: gradually, literally, he began to lose it. i started tripping and kind of like a foot drop and started catching my foot on bricks and curbs and started losing my balance initially. and then developed a limp in my right leg. i lost the dexterity where you can t button buttons, tie shoes. i can kick a little bit, but i can t really pick my legs up. reporter: john cornic has als, better known as lou gehrig s disease. the nerve cells in the spine and brain that control muscle movement, destroyed. when the brain can no longer tell muscles to move, those muscles wither away.
at carolina beach. these are communities that survive on their beaches. there s an 8 foot drop here. there should be 30 or 40 feet of beach there. that ocean is coming up to it. it has destroyed beaches for miles here, up and down the coach. these are communities that survive on their beaches. it will be a long time of recovery. there are trees, power lines, roofs, fences, walls, tons of small damage like that across a wide swathe of the area. authorities now trying to go through, assess everything. there s also lots of flooding in the area as well. trying to assess everything, get the power back on. you see lots of crews from duke energy. lots of emergency services operators trying to get out there, figure out who is out there, how will they survive, and what do they need, if anything, at this point. the town of carolina beach is