Breath of Fresh Air – The ALS Association

So you might have heard about the phenomenon that swept the nation only a few years ago: the Ice Bucket Challenge. I’m sure you’ve seen those often painfully funny videos of people pouring a bucket of ice water over their own heads or someone else’s head to alert the public to the devastating illness, ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neuro degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The prognosis is grim with the afflicted suffering from paralysis and, eventually, death. You may be familiar with its pseudonym – Lou Gherig’s disease – which bears the name of the beloved baseball player who brought ALS into the American consciousness when he was diagnosed in 1939.

Even more famous still is theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking whose recent biopic, The Theory of Everything, recounts his challenging existence due to ALS. Can you believe he has been living with ALS for 55 years? Yup! He was diagnosed when he was 21. He is 76 years old as of today. According to the ALS Association website, while the average survival time is 3 years, about twenty percent of people with ALS live five years, 10 percent will survive ten years and five percent will live 20 years or more. According to me, Stephen Hawking is a miracle. We need more miracles in this world. Don’t you think?

The ALS Association seems to be with me on that and it is why they are relentless in their efforts to find a cure. You know that silly Ice Bucket Challenge stunt I mentioned before? It raised $115 million in one summer with over $84 million of that dedicated to ALS research projects! They didn’t do it alone though. It was participation from upstanding citizens across the nation that got the ALS Association that much closer to their vision. Good thing we’re in the business of blowing up visions and bringing them to life!

In order to keep the hope alive, the ALS Association hosts a multitude of community organized walks throughout the year in just about every state. Boulder Blimp helps the ALS Association flex their muscles by assuring that their presence is known through the use of our products and services. We’ve been in cahoots with our local Rocky Mountain Chapter since the fateful summer of 2014 – the inception of the Ice Bucket Challenge – and we wouldn’t have it any other way. If you would like to learn more about ALS and/or how you can help, I urge you to drop by their home on the internet @ http://www.alsa.org.

That’s a wrap, folks! Stay tuned for the next installment of Breath of Fresh Air coming up next month. I wonder who the spotlight will turn to next! Will it be YOU?

We get by with a little help from our friends. – The Beatles