Ice Bucket Challenge: Patrick Q died at 37 …

Pat Quinn, recognized for having raised over $ 220 million for the cause against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), He died Sunday in Yonkers, New York, seven years after being diagnosed with degenerative disease without treatment. His fight had led him to promote the viral challenge “Ice Bucket Challenge“, which debuted in 2014 and featured celebrities from around the world.

“It is with great sadness that we must share the death of Patrick. It was one blessing for all of us in many ways. We will always remember him for his inspiration and courage in its tireless fight against ALS, ”they communicated from their official website last Sunday.

Quinn was not the founder of the world famous challenge of carrying buckets of ice water to your head. But he and his friend Pete frates, who also suffered from ALS, they are credited with popularizing and helping to make it a sensation in summer and fall 2014. Since then, they have been able to raise tens of millions of dollars in donations for scientific research. Moreover, thanks to him, they were able to visualize the problem and raise awareness about the disease.

The campaign launched a few years ago on social networks was a great success. Personalities recognized as Donald Trump, Justin Bieber, Stephen Hawking, Tom Cruise, Bill Gates, Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan and Robert Downey Jr. accepted the challenge. In fact, the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, had contested at the time Barack Obama, who was then president.

Shortly after Quinn found out he had ALS, in 2013, he premiered “Quinn for the Win” (“Quinn for victory“), a group of Facebook, to raise awareness about the disease and raise funds to fight for a cure. Frates, his partner, has created his own page, Frate Train Team, with the same objective.

Quinn spent his last months of life at New York, and fought to the end. “A new way of life after tracheostomy, ¡But it’s alive and I have things to do! The last time I left the hospital, I came back a day later with pneumonia and difficulty breathing. Now to go home! Wish me luck! “He wrote in his last post on his social networks last week.

What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement and leads to total paralysis which can be fatal. It does this by affecting motor neurons and the connecting pathways between the brain and the spinal cord.

The disease mainly affects voluntary muscles, that is, those that we can mentally lead. The onset of ALS may be like this subtle that the symptoms may go unnoticed or be mistaken for other illnesses. Patients with the disease usually have a life expectancy of three to five years from diagnosis.

The best known and oldest person with this disease was the physicist Stephen hawking, who has survived 55 years with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the United States, it is also known as Lou gehrig (by the famous baseball player who retired from this disease in 1939), and in France like a disease of Charcot (one of the pioneers of neurology).