And honestly, despite my ribbing of my good friend (even though he roots for the Chicago Blackhawks now;) who nominated me for this challenge, as I said in the video, I was honored to do so. The video got quite long as we were filming, and with the very capable talents of Ben Schmidt, he was able to edit the video down to almost three minutes. However, there were still some things that I wanted to mention that I wasn't able to during recording.
Sometimes, I wonder how many people who have participated truly understand what exactly is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and what it can do. Truthfully, even though I'm familiar with the technical aspects of what comes with this disease, I cannot even imagine what the patient goes through, not physically being able to do anything, even though the mental acuity is as sharp as ever. If my ability to walk, eat, speak, write, anything was taken away from me, I'd feel trapped, claustrophobic even, inside my own body. On top of that, knowing that my body was wasting away, that I'd only have a few precious years to live, and how much of a burden I would be on my family, adds insult to injury. And this can affect anybody no matter how fit one was before being diagnosed, from "Iron Horse" Lou Gehrig, who set the record for most consecutive Major League Baseball games played before retiring due to the effects of ALS, to one of the greatest minds ever in Stephen Hawking (who has a disease related to ALS), to former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason. Just one look at any of them after they were diagnosed can show how devastating this disease is.
As such, I shall also be donating to the ALS Association to help fund research into effective treatments, and perhaps even a cure. My first thought when I saw these Ice Bucket Challenge videos was, "It's great to see spreading awareness of ALS, but what good is dumping a bucket of ice over your head going to do? It's not going to further research to cure the disease." But since then, I have also seen many videos that implore people to donate in addition to spreading awareness through the Ice Bucket Challenge, which at last check has helped raise $88.5 million for the ALS Association alone to fight ALS.
Like I said in the video, instead of nominating just three people, I nominated three groups of people with whom I was associated with and happened to be touched by ALS in some way. The first group I mentioned were my co-workers at the HRV Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine; one of our colleagues, Dr. Adnan Murselovic, was an immigrant from Serbia who had moved to America with his family looking for the American dream. He would play his Serbian music at his desk and talk to us about soccer, especially when he would stream Euro Cup games on his computer while he was working. He would come in Thursday through Sunday, spending the rest of the week trying to prepare for licensing exams so that he could continue his career as a physician in the United States. I remember one afternoon, I had just come back to the HRV Lab after I had been away for a while, and he gathered the entire staff at the conference table to tell us that he had been diagnosed with ALS. Of course we were all stunned that someone whom we saw everyday, who was always cheerful, kind, and caring, would have to suffer from such a harsh disease. Unfortunately, as freshman year of college took up my time, I would only see Adnan on a handful occasions thereafter, but I do recall that the last time I saw him, he had asked me to unlock the door of the lab for him. While I did so, I was shocked that what I thought was such a simple task couldn't be performed by someone who was once such a capable individual. There were so many people who have been through that lab and who have been forgotten over time, that the fact that every once in a while Adnan's name would come up in conversation was a testament to how great of a colleague and friend he was.
Adnan was also a parent of an alumnus of John Burroughs School, where I first learned about what ALS was. Jack Orchard, another fellow alumnus, was the captain of the football team in high school, had gone off to Harvard for college and Stanford for graduate school, and had ended up in Moscow and San Francisco as an entrepreneur. He had returned to St. Louis after his diagnosis, and the first time he appeared in assembly, I remember thinking, "Oh, he doesn't look that bad." But with each appearance he made, I could see little by little the effects ALS was taking on him. He had started a new club at Burroughs, Extra Hands for ALS, that would send student volunteers to homes of patients who had been stricken with the disease to help out with whatever was needed. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to join, but I do remember many of my classmates did. Sarah and Julia, if I remembered incorrectly, I apologize, but you're still nominated anyway:)
And in honor of Jack and Adnan, Ben and I wanted to nominate the administration at Burroughs, since that was where we first gained exposure to what ALS was, and we wanted to continue keeping the awareness level raised at Burroughs. So to Mr. Abbott, Ms. Finley, Ms. LaVigne, and Ms. Tarbouni, I also apologize, but we wanted to do something for the Burroughs community. Imagine that you just coached the Super Bowl-winning team. It helps:)
Since I bent the rules and nominated so many people, I'll set the timetable for the end of next week to donate, or both do the challenge and donate. Hopefully, I'll see a video being recorded from assembly on the John Burroughs Facebook page?
Lastly, I do want to say that ALS is a formidable opponent, and the ALSA is a worthy charity to contribute to. But there are many, many other deserving organizations fighting for just causes as well. So I implore everybody who reads this: don't just end your community involvement with a video of a bucket of ice water being dumped over your head. Donate. Get involved. Learn. And one tiny step at a time, try to make the world better.
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