Photographer Anthony Carbajal, who was recently diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), has posted a hilarious video of himself as part of his very own Ice Bucket Challenge.
However, the rest of the video, where Anthony Carbajal explains his story and addresses the “haters” of the challenge sparked his call to arms to go viral.
“ALS is so, so f***ing scary,” Anthony Carbajal says.
“That’s probably why nobody talks about it. No one wants to see a depressing person that’s dying.”
ALS runs in the wedding photographer’s family – his mother has the disease and his grandmother passed away from it.
The disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, slowly breaks down the motor neurons that send signals to the spine and brain. When all the motor neurons are broken down, the ultimate result is death.
Anthony Carbajal was diagnosed with ALS on January 27, 2014.
“Eventually I won’t be able to walk, talk or breathe on my own” he says.
The video shows Anthony Carbajal caring for his bed-ridden mother.
According to his YouCaring crowd-funding page, Anthony Carbajal also had to stop working and is already experiencing lack of muscle control. His message has spread, because so far, the page has raised over $100,000 – a little over half of his goal.
Despite arguments against the challenge, Anthony Carbajal is grateful for the support: “You have no idea how every single challenge lifts my fears, lifts every single ALS patients’ fears.”
“You are making a difference.”
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