OT Ice Bucket for ALS

[Rocktheworld]

The guy who got the trend to explode across the internet, ultimately raising over $200 million for research pertaining to ALS and other diseases, died today. He was only 27 when he was diagnosed (so he was 32 when he died), which I had no idea. I know neurological conditions, including ALS, better than anyone here. I didn’t know it could develop so early. What a bittersweet story. A baseball player, with Lou Gehrig’s disease, doing what he did, at such a young age. The courage he had to accept the hand he was dealt, and to do what he did with how little time he knew he had. I imagine there will be another surge of donations with the news of his passing.

What an inspiration. RIP

 

[jibsey]

What a great thing this young man did with that effort. There has been no real progress in treating this illness. Glioblastoma same way. At least with a lot of cancers they have ways to attack them and give people hope, a shot. So unlucky, so unfair.

 

[Rocktheworld]

What a great thing this young man did with that effort. There has been no real progress in treating this illness. Glioblastoma same way. At least with a lot of cancers they have ways to attack them and give people hope, a shot. So unlucky, so unfair.

Well cancer is “just” an invasion of cancerous cells.

ALS is such a complicated disease (which, thanks to him, we will understand much better over the next 10 years) that it’s probably not as simple as a medication like what’s done with Parkinson’s or dementia, or any progressive neurological disease; at best, said medications slow the progression. Therapy, namely respiratory muscle strength training, is starting to demonstrate a slowing effect of the progression, as respiratory decline is often what eventually kills the patient. But we still know so little.

GBM is also horrible. I’ve been seeing it a little more frequently in my practice recently.

 

[Deepster]

Other than the actual Lou Gehrig, you have to think Pete was the next biggest advocate of the disease....and if you look at money raised and awareness? He may be the most important person to ever publicize it. An amazing human being.