What’s It Like To Suffer From ALS? Try These 10 ‘Real Life’ Challenges

We've all heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge by now and have either done it or have been watching our friends and favorite celebs pour ice water over their heads (I've been challenged too!) but do we remember what ALS is?

In two short weeks, this awesome viral video series has done it's job, raising at least a cursory awareness (and millions more in funding from this point last year!) but in case you're fuzzy on the disease that everyone is mentioning, here's 10 ways from Bo Stern that'll help put you in the shoes of ALS victims, who are essentially prisoners in their own body...

1. Pick up a 10-pound weight. Now imagine it’s your fork and move it from your plate to your mouth repeatedly without shaking.
2. Sit in a chair for just 15 minutes moving nothing but your eyes. Nothing. No speaking, no scratching your nose, no shifting your weight, no changing the channel on the television, no computer work. Only your eyes. As you sit, imagine: this is your life. Your only life.
3. Borrow a wheelchair or power scooter and try to maneuver quickly through the aisles at Walmart, without speaking. Note the way people react to you.
4. Strap 25 pounds to your forearm. Now, adjust your rearview mirror.
5. Using none of your own muscles, have your spouse or child or friend get you dressed and brush your teeth. Write down some of the feelings you have being cared for in this way.
6. Before you eat your next meal, take a good, long look at the food. Inhale deeply and appreciate the aroma. Now, imagine never being able to taste that – or any other food – for the rest of your life.
7. Put two large marshmallows in your mouth and have a conversation with your friends. How many times must you repeat yourself? How does this make you feel?
8. Go to bed and stay in one position for as long as you possibly can, moving nothing.
9. Strap weights to your ankles and climb a flight of stairs, taking two at a time. That’s the kind of strength it takes for someone with ALS to tackle the stairs on a good day.
10. Install a text-to-speech app on your phone or iPad and use it exclusively to communicate for one day.

So, along with the fun ice-bucket vids, maybe take one or all of the above 10 'challenges' that aren't as funny or cool, but will help you understand that if you really had ALS, you wouldn't even be able to lift an ice bucket, much less speak eloquently or record a video...

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