Man Who Inspired ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Now Raising Money for His Own Care

Pete Frates, who’s back in the hospital, is “battling this beast ALS like a Superhero,” his [...]

In recent years, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has gone massively viral as a way to raise funds to fight the disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Now, the man who inspired that challenge has run out of money for his own care.

Pete Frates is credited with popularizing the viral challenge and has been fighting ALS for years. He is now paralyzed save for a few facial movements, and while his mind, hearing and vision are all functioning, he requires 24-hour-a-day nursing care.

The cost of care for Pete at his Beverly, Massachusetts, home is $100 per hour and is not covered by his insurance, his mom, Nancy Frates, told People. She added that the cost of care per day can reach $2,400-$3,000, a massive amount that the family is no longer able to sustain.

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So Pete is raising money once again, obtaining donations through the ALS Association. Pete lives with Nancy and her husband, John Frates, as well as his wife, Julie and their daughter Lucy, 2.

According to CBS Boston, the Frates family may soon receive assistance thanks to the Massachusetts Chapter of the ALS Association's new Pete Frates Home Health Initiative, which aims to help with the cost of care for ALS patients.

"We're right at the tail end of being able to give out the first of our grants, and hopefully Pete will be one of those recipients," Lynn Aaronson, the executive director of the chapter, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "A lot of these people are friends of Peter Frates, and it is their desire that he hopefully will be one of the recipients of this grant."

Pete is currently in the hospital being treated for pneumonia, but Nancy is hopeful he'll be home within the week.

"Most ALS patients don't make it this far," she said, adding that in the remaining time her son has, "He wants to live and stay at home."

Photo Credit: Twitter / @BostonGlobe

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