Creating the MDA Challenge

Creating the challenge

A few years back, Pete Frates and Pat Quinn created the ALS Ice Bucket challenge to help raise awareness of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and encourage people to donate to research. Many people across Social Media including many celebrities, took part in the challenge, causing it to go viral and raising $225 million for ALS. It inspired me to create a challenge to raise awareness of Muscular Dystrophy, a disease I suffer from. For those of you who don’t know what Muscular Dystrophy is, it’s a group of 40+ genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass throughout the body. Check out my last Blogger post for a more detailed explanation of what Muscular Dystrophy is.

While the Ice Bucket challenge was a brilliant idea, many of us who have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy could not take part because we’re on ventilator machines which cannot get wet. So I wanted to create something unique but simple that everyone can do, including people with disabilities like me and something that can be done either indoors or outdoors year round. I thought of a few ideas, one of which was pieing yourself in the face, but that has been done to death and again those of us with a Trach and ventilator. That would be a problem. I also have an irrational fear of people putting stuff on their faces because of severe claustrophobia. So then I thought how about people putting their feet in something because with a little help people like me can definitely do that. I first thought of using ice water but then thought it was too close to the Ice bucket challenge plus freezing cold water might not be good for people who have a compromised immune system. So one day I was at the grocery store with my mom and we just passed down the aisle with shaving products, and I saw all the cans of shaving cream. That’s when it hit me. Shaving Cream would be perfect! It’s widely available and easy to clean up and it actually looks like it would be pretty comfortable (it definitely is lol!). Plus, you can do it indoors or out. Also, the shaving cream is very slippery and it kind of simulates how it is to stand or walk when we lose our ability to do that. It’s basically the feeling of not having control. So the MD Shaving Cream challenge was born with my cousins being the first to take part. Over the years, many people have taken part, mostly me, my friends and family, and all the aides and nurses who have come to my house. Plus countless YouTubers and a handful of actors, actresses, and newspeople. I plan on continuing to keep the challenge going as long as I can or until it goes viral.