The Ice Bucket Challenge... Remember That??

 Ah, The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. If you haven't heard of it, you've been living somewhere without WiFi for the last month.

When I did mine, I had only heard a little bit about the "ice water challenge" and I woke up to a nomination and wasn't aware of who I was supposed to donate to or that I was actually supposed to have ice in the bucket! I used extremely cold tap water and donated my money to Macmillan Cancer Support, which was who the UK seemed to be giving to.

Then I started looking up other challenges and seeing that it was actually the "ALS Challenge." I had no idea what ALS was. I had heard of Lou Gehrig's disease, but again didn't have a clue what it was, so it was time to do some research. It was then I discovered that ALS is actually a form of MND (Motor Neurone Disease) - or vice versa - which I had heard of, and had known people who had suffered from it.

In fact, you probably all know someone who has a form of it - a very famous person living with a type of ALS is Professor Stephen Hawking.

We all know that he is one of the most incredible minds on this planet. But we also know that he is completely paralysed and his incredible mind is now trapped inside his head and he has to speak through a computer. This is what happens to ALS sufferers.

ALS is often the cause of something called "Locked-in Syndrome." You become literally locked inside your own body.

Can you even begin to imagine what that must be like? You can think but you can't articulate your thoughts. You want to move but you can't make your muscles move. Every voluntary process that your body makes stops, because your brain doesn't connect the dots any more. So you can't eat, you can't speak, you can't walk, you can't hold someone, you can't kiss and eventually, you can't breathe by yourself because your lungs need to be told to work. You need help for all of it.

This disease is horrible. It affects different people in different ways, some are living with it, some are not, but nobody is beating it because there is no cure.

People are getting so up in arms about the ice water, saying that they shouldn't have to do it just because they've been nominated. Of course not! If you don't want to do it then don't. But maybe take a few minutes to educate yourselves. And give some money if you can. After I realised my initial mistake I donated to both charities.

If everyone who throws ice on their heads nominates three people and if only one of those three nominates three more but everyone reads about it and finds out more and spreads the word, then this man's work is done.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCoKB_tU9ng&w=560&h=315]

So dump water or don't. Donate if you can, but if you can't I'm sure the ALSA are very pleased with the $25 million that they have so far (compared to $50,000 that they made last year) and MNDA are already £2m up. But PLEASE inform yourselves and inform other people.

GO FOR IT! And in the meantime, here are my favourite ice bucket challenges:

Benedict Cumberbatch
Charlie Bewley
Old Spice Guy
Robert Pattinson
Cookie Monster

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