Photo: ALS Association
Pat Quinn, who helped found the 'ice bucket challenge' that swept the world back in 2014, has sadly died aged 37.
Quinn was suffering from ALS, known as Motor Neuron Disease in the UK, and had set up the challenge with Pete Frates (another sufferer of the disease who has also since sadly passed) to fund research into the condition which has no known cure.
The ice-bucket challenge involved people having ice-cold water poured over them, having it filmed and then posted on their social media. People were also then asked to donate money to the ALS Foundation. It is thought that around 17 million people worldwide took part in the challenge which raised $115 million. It was one of the largest ever mass donations to a charitable or good cause in history. It is hoped that all the money raised will go some way to helping find a cure.
It is with great sadness that we must share the passing of Patrick early this morning. He was a blessing to us all in...
Posted by Quinn for the Win on Sunday, 22 November 2020
The ALS Foundation released a statement regarding Quinn's death, they said:
"Pat fought ALS with positivity and bravery and inspired all around him. Those of us who knew him are devastated but grateful for all he did to advance the fight against ALS."
Quinn lived in Yonkers, New York, and was just 30 years old when he was diagnosed with the condition.
ALS is a fairly rare disease that affects motor neuron cells that control our body's movement. It is degenerative and eventually leads to greater and greater disability until the vital organs shut down. It usually kills within a few years of diagnosis. Globally around 1 in every 50,000 people are diagnosed with ALS every year and it is not known what causes it, though a mixture of environmental and genetic factors are thought to play a part.
In some countries, particularly the United States and Canada, the disease is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS while still playing competitively. Stephen Hawking, the world famous physicist and author of such books as 'A Brief History Of Time', also suffered from ALS which confined him to a wheelchair for most of his adult life. Amazingly, despite being expected to die within a few years of his diagnosis at age 21, Hawking lived for another 55 years until his eventual death, a longevity which is extraordinarily rare for someone with the disease.
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