CHS seniors kick off externships with Ice Bucket Challenge

Challenge participants pose for a photo with the Cunningham and Larsen families. (Mekhala Costello photo)

Despite a driving, cold rain, about 90 CHS students assembled in front of the Rodman building last Wednesday around noon to pour frigid water over their heads. The event was an Ice Bucket Challenge, following the well-established pattern of raising money for and spreading awareness about ALS.

Coordinated by CHS career counselor and teacher Ed Amico, the event had been scheduled to take place rain or shine, so participants as well as spectators had to face temperatures in the 30s and rain drops mixed with ice pellets.

All participants were enrolled in the community-based externship program developed by Amico to enable seniors to spend their last term getting on-the-job experience while immersed in the world of their target career. Created 16 years ago, the program is optional but very popular, with approximately one-third of each senior class taking part.

This year, Amico was inspired to suggest that the group do a community service project together. “I was thinking that it would be awesome if the students could come together for a worthwhile cause and make a difference in the community,” he said.

The group chose to raise money for two Canton residents who are coping with ALS, Mike Cunningham and Della Larsen.

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), is a motor neuron disease that progressively affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. That’s a limited and scientifically detached way of describing the impact ALS has on patients and their families, which is like a steamroller moving inexorably over their lives, blotting out independence and options as it cancels physical abilities. The trajectory of the disease is heartbreakingly short, usually under 10 years.

Some details of ALS are mysterious. In most cases, the cause is unknown. (A small percentage of people seem to have a genetically inherited form of it.) It’s also unknown why people vary in the order of symptom development. Both Larsen and Cunningham were diagnosed last year, and both now use wheelchairs. But Larsen has difficulty speaking whereas Cunningham doesn’t. In contrast, Larsen estimated that currently, she probably has more use of her legs than he does, even though she was diagnosed a few months before Cunningham.

Larsen noted that her need for a wheelchair meant that her house required some big changes. An elevator had to be installed to enable her to reach the house’s living quarters from the garage, and a bathroom was completely renovated. Even with the house being accessible, other adjustments were still necessary.

“ALS doesn’t just happen to you; it happens to your family and friends,” she said, describing how someone must be nearby at all times because of the risk of falls.

Problems with her voice have been the “hardest pill to swallow,” Larsen said. As a person who enjoys talking, she misses that ease in communication. For Cunningham, the hardest part has been relying on his family for physical assistance. A formerly active man who ran marathons and loved fixing things and helping people, he finds it painful to rely so much on his family to do things he can no longer do. He said having his son Dylan and daughter Emma (CHS alums of 2018 and 2020, respectively) see him disabled and knowing that his wife, Cheryl, is on leave from her job teaching fourth grade at the Hansen School to be available for him is very difficult.

There are, however, some bright spots, including the knowledge that research on treatments is ongoing and participating in clinical research trials of medications may be possible. Another is their own connection. Coincidentally, Larsen and Cunningham knew each other long before they got sick. In addition, the families share a professional connection to education, with Larsen having been a kindergarten teacher in the Boston Public Schools before her retirement.

CHS seniors complete the Ice Bucket Challenge. (Mekhala Costello photo)

When Larsen heard about Cunningham’s diagnosis, she reached out to help him navigate information about medications and hospitals. Their connection has grown since then. “We leaned on each other,” Cunningham said.

It was through Cunningham that Larsen first learned of the Ice Bucket Challenge plans. Hearing from Amico soon afterward, she said she was “overwhelmed” that the school still thought of her as part of the community — her third and youngest child graduated from CHS in 2021 and her own volunteer involvement in CAPT and other activities was long past.

Cunningham echoed Larsen, saying, “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from friends and family and this community. It’s an awful, ugly disease, but the goodness that comes out in people is a silver lining.”

The date of the challenge was chosen in consultation with Larsen and Cunningham so they could attend as VIP’s. Bright red buckets, donated by Home Depot of Norwood, brightened the dark day, and a canopy gave some protection for attendees against the weather, but the spirit and energy of the day made the biggest difference.

“It was freezing cold but my heart was warm,” Larsen said. “Every kid had a smile — it was all so positive.” Cunningham said, “I’m very proud to be a Cantonite.”

Larsen and Cunningham held hands and supported each other, and both felt uplifted by recognizing many challenge participants, including children of friends and younger siblings of their children’s friends. “It filled me with hope,” Larsen said. “I want those kids to be recognized for the future leaders they are.”

“It was just amazing,” added Emma Cunningham. “It meant a lot to our family.”

Amico underscored the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge, noting his pride in the energy, passion and love shown by the students, adding that the challenge has reached its fundraising goal of $15,000. He said he told the students, “Nothing in my 23 years at CHS even comes close to what I witnessed today.”

Donations to support the Larsen and Cunningham families are still being accepted and can be made by visiting gofundme.com/f/cunninghams-fundraiser-to-fight-als.

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