#whatisals

ABOUT THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE

i.         The Ice Bucket Challenge is a campaign to promote awareness of ALS.

ii.         A person is filmed as a bucket of water and ice is dumped over the individual’s head. The individual then nominates a minimum of three people to do the same thing, having only a 24-hour time frame to complete the challenge and make a donation to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.

A.    WHERE DID IT BEGIN

i.         It went viral in July and August 2014, using social media as a platform to reach a worldwide audience

ii.          The challenge first received media attention after professional golfer Greg Norman nominated news anchor Matt Lauer in July 2014 on NBC’s Today. This sparked a trend that led millions of people to post videos on social media to raise awareness of ALS.

B.    HOW MUCH HAS BEEN RAISED

i.         The Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $115 million for the ALS Association. A chart from the ALS Association shows that $77 million, or 67%, of the funds were designated to research and another $23 million, or 20%, were given to patient and community services.

ii.         More than $220 million was donated to ALS charities worldwide.

i.         ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis refers to a motor neuron disease where it pertains to a group of progressive, neurological diseases that cause dysfunction in the nerves that control muscle movement (McIntosh, 2017)

ii.         Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease

iii.         Afflicts about 350,000 a year worldwide and about half the patients die within three years of diagnosis

iv.         is a brain disease that is closely related to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

v.         In ALS, as motor neurons die, a person progressively loses the ability to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe

vi.         ALS is not contagious.

B.    WHAT IT DOES TO THE BODY

i.         affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness, a loss of motor function, paralysis, breathing problems, and, eventually, death.

ii.         The condition leads to paralysis, and patients eventually cannot breathe or swallow on their own

iii.         As the disease and nerve cells are destroyed, muscles progressively weaken.

iv.         It causes the gradual deterioration (degeneration) and death of motor neurons

C.    SYMPTOMS

i.         difficulty walking or doing your normal daily activities

ii.         tripping and falling

iii.         weakness in your leg, feet, and ankles

iv.         weakness in your hand/clumsiness

v.         slurred speech

vi.         trouble swallowing

vii.         muscle cramps/twitching (arms, shoulders, tongue)

viii.         difficulty holding your head up or keeping a good posture

ix.         fasciculations (muscle twitches) in the arm, leg, shoulder, or tongue

x.         muscle cramps

xi.         uncontrolled outbursts of laughing or crying  (emotional labity)

xii.         trouble in terms of walking

xiii.         problems with saliva and mucus

xiv.         pain

xv.         fatigue

D.    CAUSES

i.         Inability of a protein system to repair the nerve cells

ii.         Inherited in 5 to 10 cases

iii.         Gene mutation

iv.         Chemical imbalance

v.         Protein mishandling

vi.         Disorganized immune system

vii.         The exact cause is unknown, but environmental and genetic factors may be involved.

viii.         High levels of exercise

ix.         High levels of a variety of meals

E.    WHO GETS ALS?

i.         Although there are some cases of the disease occurring in young ages, most people who develop ALS are between the ages 40-70

ii.         ALS occurs in greater percentages as men and women grow older

iii.         ALS is 20% more common in men than in women

iv.         ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries and can affect anyone.

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