What is ALS? From ALSA.org:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
It sounds like another disease which needs to be defeated. So what does a video of Frank Beamer getting water dumped on him from a balcony have to do with it?
Because it's part of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Again, from ALSA.org:
It may be warm in parts of the country, but some people aren’t drenching themselves in ice or cold water to cool down from elevated temperatures. A new phenomenon has hit the social media circuit – the “Ice Bucket Challenge.”
The challenge involves people getting doused with buckets of ice water on video, posting that video to social media, then nominating others to do the same, all in an effort to raise ALS awareness. Those who refuse to take the challenge are asked to make a donation to the ALS charity of their choice.
Good on ya, Frank Beamer. He's definitely one of the good guys in the sport.
Source: @edsbs
