I'm very angry: The Archdiocese vs The Ice Bucket Challenge (ft. Stem Cell Research)

For the most part, I don't like this blog to deal with serious issues. I write blogs mostly for fun and to make people laugh, but sometimes things just get to me.  ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease is one of the most awful diseases on this planet.  It crippled baseball's first iron man (who played in the most consecutive MLB games ever until Cal Ripken Jr. broke his record) until it ultimately lead to his death.

Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech.

The disease is cruel it deteriorates those who were once healthy-seeming beings and turns them into nothing more than mush.  It is hard to see some go through it.  Those who have the disease eventually become totally paralyzed due to the lack of muscle nourishment.  You can read more about the disease at the ALS website, http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html.

I knew about Lou Gehrig's disease before, but it didn't hit me hard until former Saints player, Steve Gleason announced he had the disease in 2011.  This guy, like Gehrig was a hero.  Sure he wasn't one of the greatest Yankees of all time, but he blocked the famous punt in the game that reopened the Super Dome after Hurricane Katrina hit.  I learned about the disease through various NFL feature stories on his life and I saw the effect it had on one's body.  You can learn more about Gleason at his website, http://www.teamgleason.org/.

                                       Steve Gleason before ALS                                             Steve Gleason with ALS

I bring this up because, like many critical diseases, no cure has been found as of yet. That doesn't stop many doctors and scientists from trying to find a cure everyday.  As many of my readers know, I have Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile diabetes.  I am too looking for a cure.  My pancreas doesn't work.  Imagine this:  A vital part of your body just not working. That's what happened to me in 1997 at the age of 11.  My doctor told me in my lifetime there would be a cure.  What do cures take? brains, time, thinking outside the box, effort, and most importantly, support (money).  My disease luckily has the JDRF which raises a lot of money towards curing diabetes and they have a major fundraiser called The Walk to Cure Diabetes which my family walked in this year.  I'm happy to say with the help of my friends and family, my team The Walking Diabetics raised over $3,000.

(Above) The Walking Diabetics

ALS also has several good organizations to raise money for a cure to an awful disease.  The #IceBucketChallenge was started on social media to raise awareness and money for ALS.  And it did its job, former presidents, celebrities, and athletes including the great Michael Jordan participated.

How it works is you dump a bucket of ice over your head, if challenged, within  24 hours or you donate to an ALS charity of your choice. No one SHOULD have a problem with that right?  Check out this fact below from Mike & Mike's facebook:

The challenge has been spreading quicker than I spread marshmallow fluff on a piece of bread when I'm hungry.  All well and good until I read this article about how my religion feels about the issue, http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/08/20/ice-bucket-challenge-cincinnati-archdiocese/14342977/.

"The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has asked the principals at its Catholic schools not to encourage students to raise money for the ALS Association as the ice-bucket challenge becomes an internet sensation.

The challenge itself is fine, said Dan Andriacco, spokesman for the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese just doesn't want fundraising to be sent to the association, which funds at least one study using embryonic stem cells, Andriacco said.

"(Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a terrible disease," Andriacco said, a day after an email was sent to principals from Superintendent Jim Rigg.

This news inspired me to put this up as my status on facebook:

I know stem cell research (If you don't know what stem cells are read more about them here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/stem-cell-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117)  has been linked in there with stances on abortion and things like that when it comes to politics and the Catholic Church is also doing so, but does any of that really matter when it comes down to it?  This is about saving lives.  This is about improving my damn life expectancy and how I feel on a daily basis.  I was 11 years old the last time I felt physically and mentally 100%.  The people in Washington D.C. and the people running the church don't know how I feel.  They don't know how Steve Gleason feels.  Their lives aren't slowly deteriorating.  Juvenile diabetes is a struggle every day of my life.  It gives me no breaks.  There have been several breakthroughs where they get closer each day to finding a cure, and I'm sure raising all of this money for ALS will help them in their fight too, but this issue is a no brainer for me, use stem cell research to help cure diseases like diabetes and ALS.  Until someone lives with a disease like these, one can not begin to imagine what we go through.  I can't imagine how someone with ALS feels, just like most of you cant begin to imagine how I feel.  I want these opponents of research can look in their hearts and see what it feels like to have hope for a disease. I am ashamed to say I am Catholic today.  Jesus would not call this a sin.  He would call it a miracle.

The day that they come out with a cure to diabetes, I will cry my eyes out.  I will not think of whether or not it was derived from stem cell research.  I will just thank the person who came up with it, and be forever grateful to have a working pancreas again.  If I died from my disease tomorrow, the truth is I wouldn't be here to support my religion, so how can they be against it?  How can anyone?  If you are against it, you don't understand this world.  Do you see how ALS took one of the best baseball players ever and turned him into someone who couldn't tie a shoe?  Do you see how diabetes has messed up my nervous system to where my hands and feet tingle constantly and are very sensitive to hot and cold?  How can a religion watch its own followers suffer all because they don't support modern science?  I am of the belief that no one can be against such an issue if they have something so horrible that can be cured only with the help of stem cells.  I don't care how religious you are, when it comes down to it, you are going to want to survive as long as possible.  To make that possible, ideals can't be coming from 2,000 years ago or even in the dark ages.  You have to change and be willing to change.

To anyone who is against stem cell research, I will quote someone Catholics will just love, Charles Darwin, who said: “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” 

I will be taking the challenge tonight for ALS as I was challenged by my father, and I will flip off the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and I will be proud to do it.

Dave Brooks Sr. takes the #IceBucketChallenge and challenges me.

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Update below: My Challenge