Pat Quinn, who along with the late Pete Freights led the challenge to raise awareness of muscular dystrophy also passed away • Only 37 years old he died
A year after the death of 34-year-old Pete Freights, who was one of the leaders in the viral ice bucket challenge to raise awareness of ALS, Patrick Quinn, his close friend and one of the founders of the challenge, also passed away when he was just 37 years old.
Kevin was diagnosed with the serious illness in 2013 at just 30 years old.
Yesterday (Sunday), after a stubborn and brave seven-year struggle, his body succumbed to illness and he passed away.
"With great sadness we are forced to share the news of Patrick's death," the ALS said in a statement.
"He has been a blessing to us all in many ways. We will always remember him for his inspiration and courage in his incessant struggle with the disease.
"Those of us who knew him were broken from his death, but grateful for all he did to advance the fight against the disease. Our thoughts with his family, friends and many supporters. He was loved by community members and by many people around the world."
Inspired by his good friend and traveling companion Pete Freights, the gifted football player who was also diagnosed with blue and died of it last year at just 34, Quinn founded the Viral Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness of the disease and raise funds for the fight against it.
The beginning of the ice bucket challenge in a man named Chris Kennedy who was the first to perform it.
He passed it on to his wife's cousin whose husband suffered from the disease, and after it documented itself performing it and uploaded the video to the web he reached out to Kevin who distributed it to his friends, until it reached Freight who made him go viral.
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The challenge, which became a sensation that swept the entire world in 2014, presented its participants with two options: pouring a bucket of ice on their heads and uploading a video to the web or a financial contribution to research to find a cure for the disease.
Many celebrities such as Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Taylor Swift, LeBron James, Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake and even Donald Trump took part in the challenge, raising more than $ 200 million.
Kevin did not content himself with being one of the leaders of the viral challenge, and in addition to lecturing a lot to groups across the country about the disease, he made sure to hold the challenge every year in his hometown of Yonkers in New York and created a network campaign called Find your smile.
Along with Freights, Kevin was nominated for Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 2014.
“No one knew the challenge would become a global phenomenon, but we were united because that is what needs to be done to bring about change in a disease like ALS,” he said.
Immediate amotropic sclerosis, ALS, is a muscular dystrophy disease also known as Lou Goering's disease, named after the baseball player who contracted it in the 1930s.
The disease affects the cells of the nervous system and is currently incurable, with the average life expectancy from the moment of diagnosis usually being between 3 and 5 years.
