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Pete Frates helped make the "Ice Bucket Challenge" go viral, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for the disease he was dealing with himself: ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. But now, People reports, he's seeking help to keep paying for his own treatment as his family strains under financial pressure.
Frates, 32, is almost fully paralyzed and relies on machines to help him breathe and eat. But his mind is the same as usual, and he uses his eyes to operate a machine to type and speak for him. He receives care at home and that costs $2,400 to $3,000 a day, which adds up to $1 million a year. He also relies on an antibiotic for his pneumonia that isn't covered by Medicare if it's administered at home, according to Salem News.
His mom, Nancy, and her husband, John, left their jobs to take care of him; the three of them live with Pete's wife, Julie, and daughter, Lucy. "Most ALS patients don't make it this far," Nancy told People. "He wants to live and stay at home." His family credits his ventilator and his at-home care with helping him survive this long.
"Any family would be broke because of this," John told CBS News back in May. "After two-and-a-half years of this type of expense, it's become absolutely unsustainable for us. We can't afford it."
Luckily, Pete will be able to get the home care he needs for at least another year. The New York Daily News reports that the ALS Association will pay for one year of his medical bills through the Pete Frates Home Health Initiative. Next, they hope to raise enough money to help five more ALS patients every year through the fund. You can donate to the fund here, or if you want to donate to Pete and his family directly, you can do so here.
Currently, Frates is being treated in the hospital for pneumonia. Over the July 4 weekend, false reports claimed Frats had died. But he responded to the hoax with humor, posting that he is "still not dead" and posted video of himself listening to the song "Alive" by Pearl Jam.
