So, here I am, jumping on the bandwagon of the ALS Ice Bucket challenge to spread awareness and at the same time show support to the cause. Honestly when the whole dousing of iced water over one's head came about as a form of a message to get people to know more of the ALS disease (which actually means Amoythrophic Lacteral Sclerosis, or more commonly known as the Lou Gehrig disease) I found it ridiculous for what has it got to do with the disease at all??? Yet it is however undeniable that the cause has indeed educated the general public in some way or another of the disease and millions of dollars are now being raised to help those in need.
What really is ALS? We can go on forever rattling on the causes and symptoms of it, but I'd rather leave that to the science geeks. In layman terms, and with the help of Google, just for those who have yet to know about the ALS disease - The amyothrophic lacteral sclerosis disease is a neurodegenerative disease that will lead to eventual death. Why so, because the disease targets our motor neurons, affecting our ability to perform basic survival acts such as swallowing and breathing. Since at the moment there is no cure for it, patients diagnosed with ALS disease will have to face Grim Reaper sooner or later. Which, is why all the more we should be aware of the disease and do what we can to reduce the suffering of those who have it.
In the name of fun, the ice-bucket challenge was indeed a form of a cheap thrill, something that you could do at almost any time of the day. I did mine on a sunny Sunday afternoon, at a grassy patch overlooking my place and even earned the applause of some random dude staying on the second storey. But, in all seriousness, I learnt what ALS was all about, though not scientifically but in brief at least. To make the cause more meaningful, my family's donating to the ALS Association and hopefully we can make a change. I'm always really wary of such donation calls, but this time round we're willing to give the ALS Association a chance to prove itself.
Here's my video, and should you want to donate to the ALS Association do drop by their site http://www.alsa.org/donate/!
Much love,
Chels x