ALS CONNECT

Running and Walking for the Cause—and Pie

First the obvious: You could do worse for a Saturday morning than a scenic run or walk through Kimmswick, Missouri. But that’s not the only reason the quaint, tree-lined streets along the Mississippi River will be busy this Saturday morning. As it has since 2011, a community will gather together in support of and in memory of one of their own. And as in 2011 and every year since, it has continued to help support those with ALS and in the search for new treatments, and a cure.

Walk a Crooked Path: If You’re Going to Talk the Talk, Then Walk the Walk

By Saundra Stewart

Before Don became ill with ALS, he always taught an adult Sunday School class at the church we attended. I, on the other hand, always taught children. Don was such a good teacher, and the members of his class loved him dearly. One Sunday evening, we were just leaving for church when Don told me he wasn’t feeling well. We both played instruments for worship and it created a difficult situation if we weren’t there, but I called the Pastor and told him that Don wasn’t feeling well. During the course of the evening, I became convinced that Don was having a heart attack, and I called 911. Sure enough, he had suffered a heart attack and would be in the hospital several days.

Five Years Later—The Ice Bucket Challenge and YOU!

Let’s not kid ourselves, we can all use help with our memory from time to time. Maybe it’s a prompt like “where did you have it last?” or “Don’t forget Aunt Sally’s birthday is coming up.” Likewise, it can be hard to find the time to sit back and remember “that time when….” We are all busy, and maybe we’ll have time next week, or next month, or after school starts, or after school ends, to look back.

Still, this is one area where social media has been a help. Without that reminder from Facebook or Timehop, you might not remember that time when you took the time to watch the sunset, or won $25 from that scratch-off lottery ticket, or dumped a bucket of ice water over your head.

Five Years Later—Dr. Hayat Remembers the Ice Bucket Challenge

Five years ago, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was soaking the world and bringing unprecedented attention to ALS. Last week on ALS Connect, we looked back on some of the relationships with corporate partners the Ice Bucket Challenge started or grew for the ALS Association St. Louis Regional Chapter. But for those already on the front line of the fight to treat ALS, the Challenge had special meaning. It brought attention, and funding, to a disease that many had been working tirelessly on for years. Among those people are the many that work at ALS Multidisciplinary Clinics across our region.

Five Years Later—The Ice Bucket Challenge & Corporate Partners

It was the summer of 2014, and in St. Louis it was hot—nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was that people from all walks of life were pouring buckets of ice all over their heads. And not just to cool down, but for a cause. And it wasn’t just happening in St. Louis, but across the country, and even the world.

This was, of course, the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral video phenomenon that took over social media and raised awareness—and over $115 million—for ALS.

The ALS Association St. Louis Regional Chapter was swept up in the phenomenon just like everybody else. People, companies and organizations across the region were taking the challenge. Some we knew already, most we didn’t, but with every new video and donation, the whirlwind of “that summer” got wilder and wilder.

Walk a Crooked Path: Help By the Bucketful

By Saundra Stewart

I am not a water lover – not in the slightest. I like to look at it, I like to drink it, and I like to take showers in it. But that’s about as far as my love for water goes. One time, when Don and I had taken a trip, we were relaxing in the motel pool. I accidentally stepped off into the deep end, and I seriously thought I was going to drown! All Don had to do was reach out his hand (we were actually that close together) and I was instantly rescued. My hero!

So, when I heard about something called “The Ice Bucket Challenge”, I wasn’t interested. Have I said that I don’t like water? Well, that goes double for ice cold water. Don, on the other hand was immediately up for the game. He was already wearing the c-pap most of the time, and breathing was a labor. But he wanted to help raise money. In fact, he was dead set on it!

Lou Gehrig’s Speech—80 Years Later

The story itself is known to even the casual baseball fan: one of the game’s best ballplayers who had played more games in a row than anyone else, ever, got sick with a fatal disease that forced him to retire from the game he loved. When he retired he gave an eloquent, moving speech. Soon thereafter people started referring to the disease he had by his name: Lou Gehrig’s Disease.