If you’re going to watch just one more ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video, this may be the one.
California-based wedding photographer Anthony Carbajal takes viewers on somewhat of an emotional roller-coaster, beginning his ice bucket challenge dressed up in pink short-shorts and a bikini top before being doused with ice-cold water, and ending the video with a heartbreaking account of what it means to live with ALS.
“I’ve been terrified of ALS my entire life because it runs in my family,” Carbajal admits to the camera, before breaking down in tears.
Both his grandmother and mother suffer from the debilitating disease that attacks the nervous system and eventually leaves its victims completely paralysed while keeping their minds intact.
“Five months ago I was diagnosed at 26 years old,” he says. “ALS is so, so f—king scary, you have no idea.”
The video shows footage of Carbajal taking care of his mother – taking her out of bed, feeding her and helping her up the stairs.
“Nobody talks about it because it’s so challenging to watch,” he says. “Nobody wants to see a depressing person that’s dying, that has two to five years to live. They don’t want to talk about it, they don’t want their day ruined.”
Carbajal acknowledges that some people may be getting fed up with the flood of Ice Bucket Challenge videos inundating their Facebook newsfeed, but he says that means awareness about the fatal disease is growing.
Carbajal says he’s already started to lose strength in his hands and arms, making it difficult to button his shirt or turning the steering wheel in his car.
“Eventually I won’t be able to walk, talk and breathe on my own,” he says. “And that’s the real truth of what ALS is. It’s devastating.”
Apologizing for the array of emotions in the video, Carbajal concludes: “If I simply dump ice on my head, I don’t think you’re going to get the point.”
