By: Clara Weber The creator of this worldwide challenge was Pete Frates. Frates played baseball at Boston College before moving to become a full-time coach in Germany. In 2012, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is the same disease that killed Lou Gehrig from the Yankees baseball team. ALS is a deadly disease that breaks down nerve cells, weakens muscles, and impairs basic functions. Medications can slow the disease down and ease some of the symptoms, but there is no official cure. The most common cause of death for ALS patients is respiratory failure.
The year after his diagnosis, Frates married his wife, Julie, with whom he had a daughter named Lucy in 2014. It was in that same year he posted the popular Facebook video. While Frates did not officially create the ice bucket challenge, it was the video of his version of the challenge that sparked the start of the challenge. That summer, the video gained attention and participation from many, including celebrities like LeBron James, Oprah Winfrey, and even Bill Gates. In August of 2014, Frates completed the challenge again at Fenway Park with others from the Boston Red Sox organization. In late June of 2017, Pete was hospitalized, being put on a ventilator and unable to speak. Unfortunately, after a heroic battle with ALS, Pete passed away on December 9, 2019. He died peacefully in his own home at the young age of 34, surrounded by his loving family. His funeral was held in the same week on Friday, December 13 in his home state of Massachusetts. His legacy will live on forever as he helped to raise over $100 million towards ALS. In the end, about $77 million was put towards research that helped to find the NEKI gene. This finding gave researchers guidance in finding more treatment medications. Ultimately, the inspiring legacy of Frates and his challenge has helped put researchers in the right direction toward finding a cure to this devastating disease.
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