Brrr, ice bucket challenge!

It's been a while...

Over two years actually.  What kept me away you ask?  A combination of lack of inspiration, an excess of other thing occupying my time, and several bouts of Crohn's, Fibromyalgia, and Psoriatic Arthritis.  Few things suck as badly as not being able to walk.  I realized very quickly that having to depend on someone else to do things for me is NOT something I was to experience long term.  I have my own pharmacy at home now with all the medications they have me on and most of them have side effects that affect my mood or just generally make me feel like a walking pile of crap.

When I first started writing this blog I had absolutely no idea what to write about and after two years off, I still have no idea what to write about.  So rather than pick a theme for this blog, I say let there be no theme and I will just write about whatever comes to mind.

Today I want to write about the ALS ice bucket challenge.

I was in the store the other day and heard two younger ladies excitedly discussing the challenge and how their whole office was going to participate the next day.  I couldn't help but to think how great this is.  It spreads the word on what ALS is, raises some money for the cause, and just elevates overall awareness.  It is something I would love to see done for other diseases (like Crohn's Disease for example).

Unless someone has been personally impacted either by having a disease themselves or knowing someone who has it, most people are woefully ignorant to those who suffer with them.  We occasionally see someone in a wheelchair or speaking via a computer and know that something is wrong, but after a few minutes we return to the things that are important to us.  And that is the key really.  For change to occur, it must be important to us.  This ice bucket challenge is great for lifting awareness but keeping it in the forefront of the mind is what will drive true change.

I am curious to know how many people who have participated in the challenge actually know what ALS is.  I would guess some people are being swept up into the excitement of the masses and are just participating without truly reading up on what they are supporting.  If you are one of those people, please take a few minutes to go to wikipedia or some other resource and read up on ALS.  (personal plug:  check out Crohn's Disease too!)