Motor Neuron Disease – How Polokwane supported

The Ice Bucket Challenge is annual event to raise awareness and funds to find treatments and a cure ALS and true to form, residents of Polokwane were not to be left out.

February 6, 2017

Raeesa Kimmie 2 minutes read

Tracker Polokwane took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. Leonie van der Merwe, Neil Horn and Charleen de Jager get doused in ice cold water by Igor Kloppers, Rudi Faure and Reece Muligwe.

POLOKWANE – In 2011, the late rugby legend and former Springbok captain, Joost van der Westhuizen was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND), a disease which up until then, no one knew about.

Van der Westhuizen was given two to five years to live at the time of his diagnosis and passed the six year mark but lost his battle on 6 February, when he passed away.

MND or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as it is also known as, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body.

The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost.

With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The challenge started in 2014 and became the world’s largest global social media phenomenon.

More than 17 million people uploaded their challenge videos to Facebook, these videos were watched by 440 million people a total of 10 billion times.

It is now an annual event to raise awareness and funds to find treatments and a cure ALS.

Joost van der Westhuizen increased awareness about the disease having suffered from it since 2011.

In 2014, Joost took the Ice Bucket Challenge himself and then nominated the Springboks, the Wallabies as well as the All Blacks to take the challenge.

via BokTube SA Rugby

Locally, many residents of Polokwane also took the challenge to try and raise awareness which proved to be a fun initiative for all who took part.

Polokwane Ice Bucket Challenge

Manne of muise?

Die Hoër Tegniese Skool Tom Naudé se o/17-rugbyspan wat onlangs aan die Kia Bosveldfees-rugbytoernooi deelgeneem het, het verlede Donderdag aan die Ice Bucket Challenge deelgeneem.

IMG_0007_594658408 — John Deere het ‘n laaigraaf geborg sodat die hele o/17-rugbyspan van Tom Naudé wat aan die Kia Bosveldfees rugbytoernooi deelgeneem het op een slag met yswater natgegooi kan word.

First to take the Ice Bucket Challenge:

The Free2Bme Academic Centre in the city decided to be one of the first to brave the cold and take the Ice Bucket Challenge laid before them by Polokwane Royal Maintenance last week.