WHAT IF YOU HAD ALS?

What if you were diagnosed with ALS?

What if your doctor told you there was nothing they could do to help you or
slow down the runaway freight train that has never lost a battle?

What if you knew that the only thing you could control during your battle with
ALS was your mind. Everything else, your ability to walk, talk, eat, and dress
yourself would be lost forever.

What would you do? How would you act?

The Ice Bucket challenge has brought ALS to the forefront of our society and
people who didn't have a clue what the disease was, or even worse, didn't care
about it, certainly are dialed in now.

ALS is the most insidious disease on the planet. I realize and sympathize with
all those who've battled cancer and had to watch loved ones die from it. But with
cancer, at least there is a chance. It might not be that big, but at least there is one.
Miracles happen. Many people have beaten it.

There are no miracles with ALS. Nobody has ever beaten it. It's undefeated.

Can you imagine the feeling Pete Frates had when the doctor said, "Peter, I don't
know how to tell a 27-year old kid this, but you have ALS. There is nothing we
can do."

Can you imagine what was going through the mind of Tim Shaw, a 7-year NFL
veteran whose body was a finely-tuned machine that had withstood years of
violent collisions, when he was recently told that he had ALS at the age of 31.

ALS is a death sentence that is horrific and complete. What goes through the mind
of someone who is so young, vibrant, and strong, when they know that the rest of
their life will be filled with so much pain and torture?

And we complain about what again? The bills, the bad work situation, the house
that isn't big enough, they don't seem too bad now do they?

I admire the guys like Pete Frates, Dick Kelly, and  Tim Shaw and all the ALS
victims who stand strong when the world around them is falling apart. They know
the end game and yet, they are so brave, so valiant, and so inspiring.

And we bitch about what again? Our weight, the loss of our youth, the crows feet
that have become deep grooves around our eyes? Seriously?

The Ice Bucket challenge has raised not only awareness for ALS, but more importantly,
cash. Cold, hard cash, which is exactly what is needed to research a cold, harsh disease
and find a cure for it, or at least slow it down

And the critics are complaining about what? Wasting water? Silly videos on Facebook?
Really? Get a life and a clue while you're at it.

Our society has a tendency to complain about everything under the sun. I guess it's just
human nature and the way we are.

But if you knew you were going to get ALS would you complain about how you're life
really is?

It's not that bad, is it?