Pat Quinn who suffered from ALS and co-founder of the viral ice bucket challenge, has died. He died on Sunday 22nd November 2020, and was just aged 37.
ALS foundation confirmed his death in a statement, where they said Mr Pat Quinn was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2013, a month after his 30th birthday.
“Pat Quinn fought ALS with positivity and bravery and inspired all around him,” the association said.
“Those of us who knew him are devastated but grateful for all he did to advance the fight against ALS. … Our thoughts are with the Quinn family and all of his friends and supporters. Pat was loved by many of us within the ALS community and around the world.”
The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral in 2014 with more than 17 million people participating by pouring ice water over their heads to raise awareness for ALS, commonly known as ‘Lou Gehrig’s disease.’
Professional golfer Chris Kennedy, who first dared his wife’s cousin Jeanette Senerchia to take a bucket of ice water, dump it over her head, post a video on social media and ask others to do the same or to make a donation to charity. Senerchia’s husband had ALS.
2.5 million people donated $115 million to the ALS Association in what the organization said at the time was “probably the single largest episode of giving outside of a disaster or emergency.”
Quinn and co-founder Pete Frates, along with their teams of supporters, helped popularise the challenge. The ALS Association said Quinn “knew it was the key to raising ALS awareness,” calling it “the greatest social media campaign in history.” Frates, a former Boston College baseball player, died in December 2019 at the age of 34.
Quinn, who lived in Yonkers, New York, was 30 when he was diagnosed with ALS in March 2013. The ALS Association said that following his diagnosis, he established a group of supporters, “Quinn for the Win,” to raise awareness and funds for the fight against ALS.
The “Quinn for the Win” group posted on its Facebook page Sunday that Quinn “was a blessing to us all in so many ways. We will always remember him for his inspiration and courage in his tireless fight against ALS.”
The ALS Association reported that it and its 38 chapters received $4 million in donations in just two weeks after the challenge appeared on social media. During that same period the year before, the association brought in $1.1 million.
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease. It affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that make the muscles of both the upper and lower body work.
Those nerve cells lose their ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which leads to paralysis and death. People with the condition lose control of muscle movement, eventually losing their ability to eat, speak, walk and, ultimately, breathe.
Its most famous sufferer was famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who died at the age of 76.
The disease is named after Lou Gehrig, the famous baseball player who retired in 1939 because of the condition. Other notable people who had it were actor David Niven, NBA Hall of Famer George Yardley and jazz musician Charles Mingus.
Little is known about the causes of the disease, and there is no cure. The condition is slightly more common in men than in women.