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VICE Editorial Takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

No, no one actually challenged us to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, but of course we’ll dump some iced water on our heads and give a nice, big “Fuck You” to neuromuscular diseases.

No, no one actually challenged us to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. One of our editors, Angelina Fanous, was diagnosed with ALS two months ago, and we’re right across the street from the Brooklyn Brewery, where Buster Beer—an “Ale for ALS”—is made. So of course we’ll dump some ice water on our heads and give a nice, big “Fuck You” to neuromuscular diseases.

ALS is a scumbag of a disease that buries people alive. Each day ALS will slowly steal your ability to walk, talk, chew, and swallow until you reach the point of total paralysis. Imagine not being able to clap your hands at a concert, not being able to laugh at a joke, and having your meals served through a feeding tube instead of a plate. Within three to five years, most patients lose the ability to breathe and die.

The only FDA-approved treatment for ALS is a teeny pill that retails for $400, to be taken twice daily, and extends life spans by two to three months. Knowing what you know about ALS and how it attacks the body, would you even want those three months?

Please support ALS research, volunteer, or donate to help find something better than three extra months of agony.