I'll admit it: I can sometimes get obsessive about trolling my Facebook feed. Last week, amidst the pictures of tropical summer vacations and funny cat videos, I noticed an abundance of #icebucketchallenge hashtags overtaking my friends' news feeds. Naturally, I did some investigating to see what this cause is that so many of my Facebook friends are participating in! |
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed."
The Ice Bucket Challenge was started as a way to raise awareness (and all-important funding) for ALS. Not only is it fun to watch friends being doused with ice water in Facebook videos, it's heartwarming to see how many people are willing to take part in the challenge to raise awareness about this disease.
Now COME ON, DISH! Have you been nominated to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge? Do you know anyone impacted by ALS? Or do you have a particularly funny #icebucketchallenge video you think the world needs to see? Let me know!