The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Is A Renegade Internet Sensation, But Have People Truly Understood The Reason?

The internet is currently obsessed with one thing: dumping buckets of ice-cold water over their heads, recording the video of the event, and posting it on social media. Netizens are also “nominating,” “challenging,” or “daring” one another to dump ice-water on themselves, all in the name of supporting the ALS affected community. However, as reported by The Inquisitr, a video uploaded by Anthony Carbajal, a person who has just been diagnosed with ALS, attempts to highlight the true intention behind the ice bucket challenge that the internet community is so enthusiastically taking up.

Anthony comes from a lineage of ALS affected people. He states that his grandmother had it, his mother is suffering from the dreaded condition, and just six months earlier, he too was confirmed to have ALS.

So what is ALS? Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that slowly makes your entire body become dysfunctional. ALS is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. In simpler terms, ALS will slowly cause your extremities, namely your legs, arms, and neck, to stop responding to stimuli. Since they are no longer of use, they will weaken and wither away.

Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS haunts a small percentage of the world’s population, but it is truly a horrific disease that will eat your body from inside and will make you completely dependent for all bodily functions, including breathing. People with ALS need medical attention and constant supervision.

In the video, Anthony laments that since ALS is a rather rare condition, pharmaceutical companies have so far side-stepped them and haven’t invested in coming up with a definitive cure or a drug that would at least arrest the progression of ALS, if not reverse it. The ALS community is certainly on cloud-nine that for once their condition is in the spotlight, and the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Derek Jeter, and many others have voluntarily drenched themselves. However, it is critical that merely undergoing the ritual for the sake of a few likes and shares on social media shouldn’t be the intention of the people.

Anthony appeals that ALS is a dreadful disease that has no known cure to-date. While dumping a bucket full of ice-water over your head, please truly understand why you are doing it. Though he never utters a single word that hints at donations, it would be equally appreciated if you can donate to Anthony’s fight against ALS or to the ALS Association.

[Image Credit | Adolfo Gonzalez, Meme Generator]