Holey moley!

Paul just said the ice bucket challenge seems like another part of his life he needs to manage, and he's right on the mark!  The response to this attempt (and success!) at raising awareness and money for ALS support is overwhelmingly astoundingly fantastically wonderful!!  At latest count, the ALS Association has received --get this--$70.2 MILLION as of today!!  That's just through the ice bucket challenge...there's also the ongoing Walk(s) to Defeat ALS, which we are participating in on October 4th in Missoula (see earlier post). And that does not include donations to other ALS organizations such as ALSTDI.

Amazing.  Awesome.  Inspiring.

People just needed to know this disease exists, and then their hearts and wallets opened to PALS.  Adding the element of a fun activity that one can do in one's front yard, and be as creative as one can be, has only made it that much better.  A person can truly become involved directly and become part of a movement.

I am so glad Peter Frakes used this idea for ALS awareness, and I wish him all the best as he and his wife welcome their first child.

Wow.

What can we PALS say when suddenly our hidden disease gets viral attention on Facebook and elsewhere?  Thank you to everyone who has participated in and/or donated to ALS-related causes.  At last count, the ALSA has received $31.5 million to support its research and especially care for ALS patients (PALS).

So many people have taken the challenge (#alsicebucketchallenge) and so many have contributed.  I hope more people understand the disease now, too.

I read about another person in Havre with ALS, a man perhaps my age (?).  That makes 3 of us in a city of less than 10,000 people.  Weird.  Only 30K people in the US are diagnosed each year.  We seem to have a preponderance of cases here.

Well, we keep moving forward, as the alternative is not acceptable.  I am still working for the time being, and looking forward to the students returning to MSU-Northern next week. Hopefully my Dolan will be one of them!

We will be participating in the Missoula Walk to Defeat and here is my link:

Team Pam's PALS

We are doing well fundraising for this good cause, and hope it will exceed its goal!  We just attended a Practical Solutions Workshop put on by the ALSA Evergreen Chapter (which covers Montana, Washington, Idaho...), and got good info and contacts.  That's part of what funds raised will cover (PALS support efforts), as well as research into this mysterious, devastating disease.

As summer slides to a close, I hope we all appreciate every single day we are given.  It is a beautiful world.

Reflections

All over Facebook today is the story of Robin Williams' suicide.  It is sad that he had such brilliant humor for display, but suffered such pain inside.  Yet, I can also be frustrated when people take their lives, or live dangerously, when I have ALS through no action (that I know of) of my own.  Cirrhosis, maybe, or sugar overload, but ALS?

Yet death is overwhelmingly present in our 24/7 news and information cycle.  I have the blessing of knowing what is likely to happen, and appreciating the life I still have to live.  Equally, I have to have some humility of spirit, given the challenges that face so very many people.  Spiritual and mental challenges such as those that bedeviled Robin Williams are perhaps even more painful than the physical ones we face.