The Tennessee Titans community received devastating news Monday when Chris Johnson revealed his ALS diagnosis at age 39 during a sit-down interview on Good Morning America. The outpouring of love and support from across the sports world and the Nashville community was immediately overwhelming. For many Titans fans, one of the first people who came to mind upon hearing Johnson’s news was former teammate Tim Shaw, who has been living with his own ALS diagnosis for over a dozen years.

Shaw and Johnson were teammates in Tennessee for three seasons from 2010 to 2012. They both contracted ALS at a statistically improbable young age, which is one of the cruelest flukes imaginable. Johnson’s diagnosis at 39 is extraordinarily unlikely on its own. Shaw’s diagnosis, which came when he was just 29, was downright unthinkable.

Their timelines with the disease have been polar opposites. Johnson has gone from nearly full physical ability to being unable to speak without a voice generator tool he controls with his eyes, all within roughly a year. Shaw, on the other hand, has been alive for a dozen years following his diagnosis and was able-bodied enough to participate in physical activity multiple years into it. But now, at around the same age, both men are confined to communicating through a computer.

Shaw’s recipe for fighting back

Johnson’s diagnosis came last year, but the public didn’t learn about it until Monday’s GMA appearance. People close to Johnson and in Titans circles were aware of the private news before the announcement, though. Shaw was among them, and has apparently been in contact with Johnson privately for some time.

On Monday, Shaw posted on his Instagram account, @TShawTruth, a picture of Johnson alongside the news coverage with this message: “Super tough @ChrisJohnson28. Faith in God + great attitude + motivation = WINNING. That’s CJ @TheTitans #ALS.”

Faith, attitude, and motivation. That’s Shaw’s recipe. And it reflects what Johnson himself said during his GMA interview about his approach. He was vulnerable about the fact that early on, all he could do was try to survive day to day, working to get through the kind of news you simply never fully wrap your head around. But a year into this fight, Johnson made it clear that he realized you have two choices when something like this happens. You can roll over and let it win, or you can fight. He’s choosing to fight.

How Johnson inspired Shaw to keep pushing

In an article I recommend reading at paulkuharsky.com, my fellow Titans beat writer reached out to Shaw via text and was able to share some additional insight. Shaw explained that even though he has been trying to help Johnson through this process, he’s unsure if he’s actually helped at all. What Shaw did say, though, is that Johnson has been an incredible help and inspiration to him.

Johnson explained during his GMA appearance that when he first received the diagnosis, his doctors told him there were some drugs that might extend his life by a few months, but that he generally needed to get his affairs in order. He and his wife Brittany didn’t accept that. They sought out doctors who were pushing a more aggressive, experimental course of action, and Johnson is now working through clinical trials.

That decision inspired Shaw to seek out additional options and clinical trials of his own. Two former teammates, separated by years and different stages of the same terrible disease, are now pushing each other forward.

The bond between these two former Titans goes far beyond football. The fight that Chris Johnson and Tim Shaw are waging together is something the entire Titans community can get behind.