My Unsolicited Opinion: The ALS article that went too far

I have seen this article shared on Facebook several times and I've been holding my tongue.... But it just keeps being there, slapping every person affected by ALS in the face, and their family & friends & healthcare providers and anyone else this disease has impacted. Here is the link if you want to read it:  

http://www.macleans.ca/society/health/why-the-ice-bucket-challenge-is-bad-for-you/

This article irritates me for two main reasons:

1) This disease is not preventable, not curable. Many of the causes of the competitive diseases in this article are lifestyle related, preventable & manageable. (ie. smoking, diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress, etc.) I say many because I acknowledge that genetics and other inborn defects are absolutely causing chronic illness and therefore some of these illnesses are less/not preventable. 

2) Who is this guy to decide that one chronic & terminal illness is less important than another? They're all horrible. If you have ever seen or cared for an individual with ALS, you will appreciate the how serious and terrible the condition is, and I doubt that you would say that it is a less deserving cause.

A few other thoughts:

"Only about 600 people per year die (of ALS) in Canada". 

--- So it's less important? How many deaths per year would make it a charity worth your money? Is there a guideline? 

"ALS research is not an urgent need".

--- That's a pretty strong statement. I wonder how the author would feel about the urgency of this illness if he were unable to feed himself because he had lost all motor function of his limbs (and I suppose unable to type such an insensitive article)?

As far as the article implying that its just a fad or a dare, aren't lots of different campaigns for different charities similar? I donate to the Cancer Society because they come to my door. I donate to CHEO because Walmart cashiers ask me when I shop. I donate snowsuits to CPAN because the Scottish lady on the radio gets to me every year. All of those campaigns put you on the spot in essentially the same way that this one does. This is just another campaign for another worthy cause and they nailed it. People are gaining awareness and it's voluntary just like any other campaign.  

I say good for ALS for creating such an amazing campaign to achieve the purpose that they set out to! (Probably blew their goal out of the water, in fact!) 

And hopefully this can be a motivation to other worthy causes for future fundraising and awareness efforts! (How about if the millions of smokers out there save their cigarette money and donate it to cancer research instead? Or next time we are tempted to go through the McDonald's drivethru, how about take that $15 and send it to the Heart Institute instead? This guy's article seems to imply that the population doesn't have enough money to go around, however people are making choices that are leading to the top killers... And paying for it.)

ALS is not preventable, it is difficult to manage, it is incurable and terminal. I think that's worthy of my 56 second video and my money.

I just wanted to put this out there. It's sad and absolutely insensitive that this article is spreading the message that it is.  #ALSIceBucketChallenge 

Summer Lovin' - What We've Been Up To

It's been quiet around here (and by here I mean the blog, not our house!). This summer is sailing by, and with only a couple of weeks left until school, we are trying to squeeze in as much fun as we can! I can't believe I started out the summer feeling nervous overwhelmed completely terrified about being alone all day with these four high-energy rug-rats... one of whom spends a good part of his days attached to me. I definitely can't believe how awesome its been. Now, don't get me wrong, there are days when its all I can do to remember to eat/drink something in between feedings, diaper changes, spills, endless mountains of laundry and dishes, and driving the boys around to their activities, etc. etc. All things considered, I think it has gone pretty well!

Without much further ramblings, I'd like to share a little bit of what we've been up to over the past 6 weeks....

10 School Year Calendar Ideas {Perfect Pins}

The summer seems to be sneaking away from me. We have had a full & busy summer, and over the next couple of weeks we will be trying to develop some kind of routine as we get ready for the boys to go back to school. Some days I'm sad with the anticipation, other days I'm counting down. Its always a bittersweet time. On one hand, it will be nice to have a bit more time for the wee boys & for myself, but on the other hand, I will miss the big boys tremendously.

As today was a day where I'm feeling that back to school can not come fast enough (and when I'm hoping that tomorrow will be different!), I got to searching for some organizational tools to get back into the swing of things. So without further ramblings, here is a great collection of school year calendar systems to help you organize time for school activities that are just around the corner!

Creamy Dilly Cucumber Bean Salad

I'm still in salad mode while the weather stays nice. I love salads of all  kinds, and I love trying new things! If you missed them, check out my recipes for Greek Quinoa Salad, Taco Bean Salad & Cranberry Arborio Salad.

In the past few weeks the neighbours' garden has had a surplus of cucumbers. First of all I'd like to say this makes me sad & sentimental as we have not found the time for our garden over the past two summers. I loved my garden. I really wanted to have a small one this year but there are just not enough hours in the day with my little army of boys around here. My hope is that next summer the two older boys will be excited & helpful with a little garden. But I digress, I'd like to thank my neighbours for growing too much and sharing. It also makes me very happy to have fresh produce from their lovely garden and I love the inspiration for new recipes to use these fresh veggies!