Life Preservers

Go Ahead, Make Fun of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

August 20, 2014 at 2:00 pm 3 comments

Some people sniff out enthusiasm like a dog looking for a place to poop. You knew it was only a matter of time until the Negative Nancies started in on the Ice Bucket Challenge for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Well, go ahead and make fun of me. I’m not embarrassed that I did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Amazingly, I’m not even embarrassed that I displayed my fat body sopping wet on facebook.

I was challenged by a good friend, so there was peer pressure. I am also a silly-leaning human who has worked in both marketing and fund-raising, so the campaign itself caught my interest.

But the reason I made extra ice and charged up my video camera last week was for my Uncle Tom.

He was a wonderful human being. He was kind, funny, generous, and very active. One of those people who always had something going on, places to go, things to do, pranks to set up. He was my Dad’s best friend. He was my cousins’ loving father. He was one of the good guys.

I should note that the doctors never specifically diagnosed what he was going through. The only explanation they were ever able to give was that it was “like ALS.” And, like ALS, the connections from brain to spine to muscles were being disconnected one by one. Click, your feet don’t work. Click, your eyelids won’t stay open even when you’re awake. Click, you’re not allowed to drive anymore. Click, people can’t understand what you’re trying to say. Click, you can’t climb stairs. Click, you’re not allowed to live in your home anymore. Click, you can no longer swallow food. Click. You were gone much too soon. 

I did the challenge for a guy who, even in his toughest moments, would have gotten a good laugh from seeing people pour a bucket of ice water over their heads. He would have liked the creativity. He would have understood the math of how word spread. He would have gotten a kick out of the fact that silliness can be a power for good.

I did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Feel free to make fun of me. Make fun of everyone who took a moment out of their day to honor a friend or help raise funds. Go ahead, because even your sarcasm will help raise awareness.

Links:

To donate: http://www.alsa.org/donate

Here’s a great blog post about the challenge: What an ALS Family Really Thinks about the Ice Bucket Challenge

The best challenge video I’ve seen:  Bill Rudy

Entry filed under: Life Preservers. Tags: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.