Pete Frates, one of the people who helped popularize theALS Ice Bucket Challenge, has died. He was 34.
“Pete was an inspiration to so many people around the world who drew strength from his courage and resiliency,” the family went on. “A natural-born leader and the ultimate teammate, Pete was a role model for all, especially young athletes, who looked up to him for his bravery and unwavering positive spirit in the face of adversity.”
Frates’ family described him as “a noble fighter” who helped champion the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and noted that he never complained about his illness, but rather used it as “an opportunity to give hope to other patients and their families.”
David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty
“In his lifetime, he was determined to change the trajectory of a disease that had no treatment or cure,” the family wrote. “In August of 2014, the historic movement pioneered social media fundraising and garnered donations globally that resulted in better access to ALS care, genetic discoveries, treatments and, someday, a cure.”
“He was a beacon of hope for all,” they added.
Frates’ struggle with the illness began one summer day in 2011 during an amateur league baseball game when a pitch hit him on the wrist. Visiting doctors to find out why his hand never recovered and continued to hang limply, the family learned in March 2012 that Pete, then 27, didn’t have a broken bone or pinched nerve, but instead had ALS.
The condition causes people to lose muscle function to the point where they can no longer walk, dress, write, talk, swallow or breathe. Life expectancy averages about two to five years, according to theALS Association.
That day, he vowed to work for a cure, his mom Nancy previously told PEOPLE. “Pete told us that we had been given the opportunity to change the world,” she said in 2017. “He said we’re not going to ask why, we’re going to get to work.”
His success at local fundraising led to the Ice Bucket Challenge. During its height in 2014, it was difficult to go a day without seeing a video of regular folks or celebrities getting doused with ice-cold buckets of water and/or contributing money to the cause.
The fundraising bid ultimately collected more than $220 million forresearch, which led to thediscovery in 2016of NEK1, a gene that contributes to the disease. ALS is inherited in about 5 to 10 percent of cases while no one knows what causes the remainder.
Despite his success with the challenge, Frates’ mother revealed to PEOPLE in 2017 thathe didn’t have enough moneyof his own to stay in his parents’ home with his wife Julie and their daughter Lucy, now 5, and receive care.
However, just a short time later, the national ALS Association and itsMassachusetts chapterestablished thePete Frates Home Health Initiative— a fundraising program created with the help of Boston philanthropists to assist Frates and his family, as well as many others who are living with the illness, cover the cost of in-home caregivers.
By then, the former Boston College baseball player was almost entirely paralyzed, and on a ventilator and feeding tube, even though his mind was fine and he could see and hear.
Courtesy Nancy Frates
Details of Frates’ funeral services are still pending, though Boston College confirmed on their website that the funeral Mass will be held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish near the college, with a celebration of his life to be held on the North Shore of Boston at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that Frates’ loved ones consider making a donation to the Peter Frates Family Foundation (21 Landers Drive, Beverly, MA 01915) or online atpetefrates.com/donate.
source: people.com
