Ditto the Monster does the ALS #IceBucketChallenge

Donate to http://alsa.org

So Ditto has been challenged to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by the Light family, who did a really great job with their Ice Bucket challenge, and so Ditto has to do it too.  However, since Ditto likes to both educate AND entertain, I did some research with the ALS Association and found out some information about this disease.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the function of nerves and muscles – It can affect speech and movement, and it keeps getting worse the longer you have it.   ALS occurs throughout the world, with no racial, ethnic, or economic boundaries, and lots more work is needed to determine what genetics and/or environmental factors contribute to developing ALS

Before this Ice Bucket Challenge thingy, You probably did not hear about ALS much unless you knew someone who had it, but there are an average of 15 new cases diagnosed every day in the US, and It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time, so Ditto is very happy that this challenge is giving it a lot of positive exposure and getting people to learn more about ALS and to  donate…

While there is not a cure or treatment today that halts or reverses ALS, there is one FDA approved drug that modestly slows the progression of ALS as well as several other drugs in clinical trials that hold promise.  That’s why both awareness and support are so important, so that maybe we can find a cure or treatments to help people with the disease to fight it better.
My family has already made a donation to the ALS Association, that is ALSA.org – any size donation really helps, so please, even if you’re not dumping buckets of water on your heads, give them a donation or further help spread the word, the ALS Association can use all the help it can get to fight this awful disease.

So I am supposed to challenge other people to do this – Kermit the Frog already did it, so I will challenge Dworgyn – he looks like he needs a bath anyway; Professor Drake from the Myth school – because what Ravenwood student WOULDN’T want to see him get a bucket of water dumped on him? And finally Seargant Major Talbot of Krokotopia, because he always looks Thirsty, and I figure that would cool him off too – it is very hot there in Krokotopia…

Thanks to all who support ALS and ANY Charity – get out there and help people, it will make you feel great!

Oh, and sorry Carl – I’ll make it up to you….