This past summer was full of trends, however one of the most popular was the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. In this challenge, the person nominated was told to dump a bucket of water filled with ice over their head and donate to the ALS foundation. It’s safe to say however that most people had no idea what ALS even stands for. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” has been estimated to affect as many as 30,000 people at any given time. It is a neurodegenerative disease, which means it affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. About 5,600 people in the US are diagnosed each year with the disease.

Amyotrophic comes from a greek background. The “A” means without, “myo” refers to muscle, and “trophy” means nourishment. “Lateral” explains an area in the spinal cord that is affected, and “sclerosis” refers to the hardening or scarring of this area as it degenerates. In this disease, muscle is weakened immensely, especially in the arms, legs, mouth, and respiratory area.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was created this past summer, and people across the country poured buckets of ice water over themselves and donated to the foundation. They raised up to $115 million in donations, and have been seeing more activity in their ALS walks. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ansel Elgort, and Drake are only a few of the multiple famous people who also participated. Here at EHS we also had a lot of activity. The EHS speech team, directed by Joni Anker, participated in the event during their summer speech camp. Rick Sutton and the football coaches also took a role in the challenge, as well as Gillen and the volleyball squad. Mr. Elliott, one of the volleyball coaches and participant in the challenge, stated, “The Speech Team started out with their challenge in the summer, followed by the football and volleyball coaches. We did it for a good cause and hope that it continues to spread.”
As a firm believer in change a community or individual can bring, we as Eagan Independent hope you not only participated in the ice bucket challenge, but also took the time to donate to the ALS Foundation. If you still want to participate, the website is http://mda.org/disease/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis?iq_id=70605347&source_code=140802AAAC030705_-VQ16-t

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