Ive recently has a friend post a status about some confusion of the ALS ice challenge and addition to that there has been a lot of criticism of the the challenge. The ice bucket challenge is to raise awareness/money for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrigs disease. ALS is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control muscle movement. Some of the symptoms of ALS include but not limited to; muscle cramps, muscle contractions, muscle weakness, head drop due to weakness of the neck. This is when the ice comes into play - which Ive found most people dont know the reason behind the ice. Cold water makes the muscles and tissues contract, reducing the size of transportation channels of blood and slows/impairs movement. When you dump the ice over your head its momentarily acknowledging those with ALS and what they face physically (on a much smaller scale). Its called empathy. Another important notation that I should mention is the fact that youre still supposed to donate upon dumping the ice over your head - just ANYTHING under $100, even a dollar. The flak Ive been reading such as just donate and dont brag about it or why video yourself dumping ice over your head and the most common/predictable for Californians youre wasting precious water. 1. Concerning the first two most seen comments: those suggestions MIGHT be relevant of this was ten years ago. The day and age we live in now is a time with the possibility of a 30 second clip going viral and seen by millions within a matters of minutes. These videos have brought so much attention to a disease that many of you (including myself) had never heard of prior. ALS would have never caught my attention if it wasnt for these people dumping ice over their head. Its about bringing attention to an issue and not yourself. 2. The argument of wasting water - how can you say wasted when its being used for something so positive? Its bringing unity, happiness, awareness, and an immeasurable amount of attention. Lets us not forget that most of California is dry and and hot. After all, we are living in a desert! After I read these sort of arguments there is never a solution or an idea to follow. Its a complaint... Nothing more and nothing less. My friend David said it best, if people only knew how much water animals consume vs what a human consumes on a daily basis our drought level would be fixed. Also not harvesting crops that are corn and soy beans; they require lots of irrigation. In addition just to produce one gallon of milk yes just one, requires 2000 gallons of water (thanks Bree). I think you know where I am going with this. I would like to add to the fact that this is unifying us and giving us a spec of hope with humanity - it shows that we do really care for one another and we can come together when needed. With everything happening with Israel and Hamas, and the slaughterings being committed by ISIS, and in our own backyard in Ferguson, and racial debates etc., this is the ONE issue shedding some sort of light. Everyone part of the ice challenge is doing an amazing thing and the ALS community is very thankful as you can see from the video below. Ive attached a video that I believe everyone should watch: https://m.youtube/watch?v=cK7UUYt_vRI
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:13:28 +0000
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