It’s been four years since John Driskell Hopkins from the  Zac Brown Band first announced he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a terminal neurodegenerative disease commonly known as ALS. Hopkins is still touring with the Zac Brown Band, and still fighting to find a cure for ALS, which is slowly robbing him of his mobility. As of now, there is no cure.

“My voice is slowing still,” Hopkins tells Everything Nash. “My balance is worse. My pitch is still pretty good, but my range is being compromised. My fingers all work, but they’re slower. I can still play guitar, and I’m still on tour. If you soloed my microphone, every other song would be a laughing stock because I can’t keep up with the fast ones, so I tend to phonetically get close, but my pitches are all on. So you get this low-end Hop part of the harmony stack. But if you listen to me solo on half the stuff, you would say, ‘Wow, he’s mumble-mouthing everything.’  But then there are some songs that are exactly as they were.”

As far as his mobility, Hopkins is still able to do quite a bit, although he does get help from his fellow bandmates.

“People ask me if I need help all the time, and I tell them I will ask for it. And it’s gotten so annoying that I just accept it all the time now,” he says with a laugh. “I can carry them all, but it makes my friends and family feel more helpful. And I struggle with it. I mean, let’s be honest, right? But I can still go through the airport with a guitar and a backpack and a suitcase without a wheelchair.”

John Driskell Hopkins Talks About the Ice Bucket Challenge

 

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The Ice Bucket Challenge, started in 2014, is back. The Zac Brown Band and Hop On A Cure, Hopkins’ nonprofit that raises money for ALS research, both participated. In addition, the Titans have been advocating the initiative, which raises money and awareness for ALS and research for a cure. The Titans’ former running back Chris Johnson was also recently diagnosed with ALS.

Ironically, Hopkins’ wife, Jennifer Hopkins, once also participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, years before she knew how personally the disease would affect her.

“I think more people are not shaking their head saying, ‘What’s ALS again?’ this time around,” Hopkins says of the Ice Bucket Challenge. “And that is inspiring. I think a lot of people still don’t understand what it actually is. And I was one of those people in the first round. I didn’t know what we were fighting for. And I sure as hell do now. The one thing that I really like about this for this second round of challenge is that there are so many organizations that deserve specific support based on what you would like to support in the ALS community.”

With 12 years between the first Ice Bucket Challenge and now, there have been great strides in research, although a cure still remains unavailable.

“We have a lot more diversity now, and people are able to make a decision based on where their heart leads them,” Hopkins says. “And with so many facets of a disease that we still don’t understand, I think that choice is preferable. Also, it’s been long enough to where people are excited about jumping on again. It’s not old hat. There are a bunch of kids that haven’t done it. You know, if you’re 12, you were born in ’14. So that’s new to a lot of families who are rebooting this. Maybe they had a grandmother pass, and now they have kids and they can say, ‘Oh, this is for Memaw.’ So there’s a lot of wonderful aspects to it.”

Hopkins remains hopeful that, due to advanced research, a cure will be found in his lifetime. To find more about Hop On A Cure, or to make a donation, visit HopOnACure.org.