By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    Nutritional Insight
    Building a Healthier Future: Nutritional Insight for the Modern World
    August 17, 2023
    Managing Your Health After a Worksite Accident
    Managing Your Health After a Worksite Accident
    February 16, 2024
    Legal Risks of Mesothelioma Misdiagnosis for Healthcare Providers
    February 13, 2024
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Obama’s Opportunity for the “Super Committee”
    November 8, 2011
    dr. oz electronic medical records
    Dr. Oz, Electronic Medical Records, the Fifteen Minute Physical and The State of Healthcare in America
    May 22, 2012
    Ripping Off Medicare
    November 23, 2011
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Hooray for the Ice Bucket Challenge
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Hooray for the Ice Bucket Challenge
eHealthSocial MediaSpecialties

Hooray for the Ice Bucket Challenge

Andrew Schorr
Last updated: August 25, 2014 8:00 am
Andrew Schorr
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

The past couple of weeks, my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with friends and relatives dumping buckets of ice water over their heads as they participate in the ALS Association’s “Ice Bucket Challenge,” a grassroots and viral approach to raise awareness of a rare disease and to boost fundraising. As you probably know, it has taken on an unexpected momentum of its own and brought tremendous benefits to the effort. I have read that fundraising for ALS is well over ten times ahead of last year. While dollars are vital and important to advance research, awareness is critical, too.

The past couple of weeks, my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with friends and relatives dumping buckets of ice water over their heads as they participate in the ALS Association’s “Ice Bucket Challenge,” a grassroots and viral approach to raise awareness of a rare disease and to boost fundraising. As you probably know, it has taken on an unexpected momentum of its own and brought tremendous benefits to the effort. I have read that fundraising for ALS is well over ten times ahead of last year. While dollars are vital and important to advance research, awareness is critical, too. For example, I am living with a rare condition also, called myelofibrosis. Fortunately, the pharma companies are pouring money into therapies for it, therapies that, if safe and effective, could bring them revenue from other related conditions, as well.

ALS, a terrible and fatal condition that can take away your ability to eat, talk, and move, unfortunately, has no real effective medicines. And I haven’t heard of a magic bullet yet on the horizon. It’s very personal for me as a close friend, Daniel Mulhaney of Mercer Island, Washington (near Seattle), has ALS and, despite a terrific Ice Bucket Challenge attitude, his health is going downhill.

Daniel is very public about it now. And just a few days ago, with help from his daughter, Michaela, he produced his own Ice Bucket Challenge video. Please watch it, below. Here’s what Daniel wrote announcing the video: “For me, the hurdle was less about having ice water dumped on my head (and, WOW, was it ever a shocker!), and more about exposing my physical self to you – I’ve lost so much upper body muscle mass.  Having been into fitness all my life, it’s quite a change. But the Daniel that you’ve known is still there, it’s the avatar that I’ve occupied all these years that’s approaching its ‘used by date.’ ”

More Read

Addressing Addiction In Primary Care
Mobile Health Around the Globe: Arogya World’s mDiabetes Project
7 Tips To Having A Healthy Kidney
Try These Top Effective Skincare Routines To Live By In 2019
Tweets and Social App “Vine” Cover Live Surgery in UK


As you can see, Daniel can no longer speak. The voice you hear is the computer voice of his iPad speaking what Daniel wrote. Daniel is right-handed. But he can no longer move his right hand. So imagine him plunking out the letters of his message to us slowly with his partly functional left hand. I recently sat with Daniel as he patiently did this. And he smiled as the computer voice “spoke” his words to me. Daniel can no longer swallow. He keeps a suction device close at hand. During my visit, like a dental hygienist, I helped operate the device when Daniel signaled it was needed.

Daniel can no longer “eat” like we do. He has a feeding tube that attaches to a little port on his belly. While I was with him, Daniel ate, and he smiled. Around him, his wife tended to chores, and Michaela visited with friends. It was a different experience from just about 6 months before in Barcelona when Daniel led his wife, daughter Michaela, and his college-aged son on a trip to Europe. They stayed with us for several days. Daniel could eat and talk then. But he needed me to sign credit card receipts, because his right hand was almost nonfunctional then. This was part of his “bucket list” trip and included a family reunion in France. Later, he stopped in Boston to explore a clinical trial. He decided not to participate as he didn’t feel this one offered real hope for him, and it would require him to be separated from family and friends.

So, as you can now see, I have seen ALS close up. Even as a two-time cancer survivor, it makes me feel healthy and blessed. My wife, Esther, and I have wanted to do our part. No, we have not dumped ice water on our heads. But we have joined ”Team Daniel” virtually to support a charity walk in Seattle in September. Here’s a link if you would like to support this, too.

The Ice Bucket Challenge has proven to be a bonanza for people researching and affected by an orphan condition. Maybe this is a model to help other little-known groups, as well. Not to be critical, but in this age of pink ribbons and pink baseball bats, awareness – and money – needs to be spread around.

I pray Daniel, who is as alert and sharp as ever, will have many quality days with his family and friends and know that by “speaking out” he is touching us all and hopefully setting the stage for treatments that can prevent suffering in the future.

Rather than sign off my blog my traditional way, here’s the quote Daniel uses as the sign-off for his email updates:

“I promise to smile and laugh and cry and love for every breath that remains in my body.”

        – Steve Gleason – #37, Former New Orleans Saints Safety

TAGGED:ALSIce Bucket Challenge
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

LANDMARK STUDY: Variation in Physician Networks Across the US

July 18, 2012

What’s the Cause of Chronic Abdominal Pain?

January 1, 2015
orthopedics and obesity
Medical EducationOrthopaedics

The Importance of Being on the Same Page

July 18, 2013

Text-to-911 Availability Has Important mHealth Implications

January 22, 2015
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?