Why the ice bucket challenge matters

How motor neurone disease took my dad’s voice and independence

By Hull Daily Mail  |  Posted: August 29, 2014

Hundreds in Hull and the East Riding have taken on the ice bucket challenge to fight motor neurone disease – but few had more reason than Mail competition winner Charlotte Ashfield from Hessle. James Burton reports.

For many participants, the latest charity craze is just a bit of fun.

But when Charlotte Ashfield took on the ice bucket challenge to raise cash for the fight against motor neurone disease, it was personal.

Her father has been living with the condition for almost a decade, with the disease claiming his voice.

Hundreds in Hull and the East Riding have taken on the ice bucket challenge to fight motor neurone disease – but few had more reason than Mail competition winner Charlotte Ashfield from Hessle. James Burton reports.

For many participants, the latest charity craze is just a bit of fun.

But when Charlotte Ashfield took on the ice bucket challenge to raise cash for the fight against motor neurone disease, it was personal.

Her father has been living with the condition for almost a decade, with the disease claiming his voice.

With others finally taking notice of the devastating impact of the condition, she felt the urge to get involved.

She was nominated to take part by former Homebase colleague Adele Grieveson and leapt at the chance to raise awareness.

“I was really looking forward to it,” she said.

“We’re not very public, it’s not what we’re all about, but I asked dad and he was fine to be in the video.

“I got home from work and the guy who poured water over me was one of my dad’s carers who came in on his day off.”

The shock of being soaked in cold water is a bit like the disease itself, Charlotte said.

Participants gasp as the ice hits them, feeling, for a second, the struggle to breathe that victims face every day.

“That moment when you have a bucket of cold water chucked over you, that intake of breath is what they’re going through all day, every day,” Charlotte said.

The challenge has so far raised more than £48m to fight motor neurone disease but, for many, it is also a chance for a laugh.

Only a few, like Charlotte, know the massive difference that money could make.

• The Mail is donating £100 to the Hull and East Yorkshire Group of the Motor Neurone Disease Association at Charlotte’s request.

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/ice-bucket-challenge-matters-motor-neurone/story-22846851-detail/story.html