Patrick Quinn: Ice Bucket Challenge activist dies aged 37
- Published
Patrick Quinn was diagnosed with ALS in 2013
Patrick Quinn, one of the men who helped drive the wildly popular Ice Bucket Challenge fundraising campaign, has died aged 37.
Quinn, a New Yorker, was diagnosed with the incurable neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2013.
He died on Sunday morning, his supporters wrote on his official Facebook page. "He was a blessing to us all in so many ways,", external they said.
The viral campaign has raised $220m (£163m) for ALS research.
The Ice Bucket Challenge did not begin with Quinn, but he and his family and friends helped it become a global social media phenomenon in the summer of 2014.
Former US President George W Bush was among those to take the challenge
To complete the challenge, people would dump a bucket of ice water over their heads and post the video to social media, challenging others to do the same or make a donation to ALS research. Often, people did both.
The challenge drew high-profile participants like former President George W Bush, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and President Donald Trump.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Rare condition where parts of the nervous system become damaged, causing progressive weakness, usually with muscle wasting
Known as motor neurone disease (MND) in the UK
In the US it is often called Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous baseball player who was thought to have died from the disease
Occurs when specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord called motor neurones stop working properly; as the condition progresses, sufferers find basic activities such as walking, speaking, swallowing and breathing increasingly difficult to do
Life expectancy for about half of those with ALS is three to four years from start of diagnosis, but some can live 10 years or longer - Prof Stephen Hawking had ALS for 55 years
Source: NHS Choices, external
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