ALS Ice Bucket.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a neurodegenerative disease in which your neurons stop functioning. It causes one to lose control of their body. It effects everything from fine motor skills, walking, talking and swallowing, progressing further and eventually taking away more movement, all while being completely aware that this is happening. It is a disease to which there is no cure, no treatment and no understanding of the cause. It effects each person differently with an average life span once diagnosed of 2-5 years, in some extreme cases however, just a few months.


Those who know me personally can attest that ALS is now a cause near and dear to my heart, it is a disease that I wish I never had to learn about. A few months ago my dad lost his short battle with ALS. It took about 6 months from being diagnosed before it took my dads life. Six months where we watched him lose his speech, ability to walk and eventually chew, swallow and breath. It really is a nasty disease, that many know nothing of. To be honest, when the doctors first thought that my dad might have ALS, I had to search the internet to figure out what it exactly was. It can be said that 'ALS, three letters that change people lives forever'.

To me the idea of the ALS ice bucket challenge is kind of disgusting and a little frustrating. Like all of these fads (no makeup selfie for breast cancer, no shave november for prostate cancer etc.) the real cause is typically the reason it was started, it was good intentions, but is quickly lost. I first saw it appearing on my facebook newsfeed a few days ago, and after a little bit more investigation see that it is actually something that has gone viral. For those who accept the challenge and participate not only by doing the challenge, but also donating an ALS charity or explaining a bit about ALS and raising awareness, thank you. It is those whoever who have no mention as to why you are doing this and are more or less jumping on the band wagon, maybe think twice. I have seen it on my facebook 10 times before anyone linked to an article about the real reason they are doing it or even explain what is happening.

So please, if you are one to jump on the band wagon, or if you get nominated by a friend please consider donating. For us in particular the ALS Society of Windsor was a wonderful resource my dad and our entire family every step of the way. They provided access to medical equipment that would have cost a fortune, assisted with filling out paper work and explaining what to expect and what we could be doing. They provided a wheel chair lift, a motorized wheel chair and a number of other vital pieces of equipment that made it possible for dad to remain at home as long as possible. So please, if you want to dump a bucket of ice on your head, go for it, but please know why you are doing it. The more funding and the more awareness the more chances there are that a cure is found for horrible disease.

http://www.alswindsor.ca/?donate