Pete Frates to get help with ALS medical bills
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dec. 13, 2016: In this file photo, former Boston College baseball captain Pete Frates, left, appears with his wife, Julie, center, and two-year-old daughter Lucy, right. (AP)
Days after family members asked supporters to pray for Pete Frates, the man who inspired 2014’s viral amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) “Ice Bucket Challenge,” it was revealed that a new program will help to cover his medical bills associated with uninsured care costs.
Frates, 32, was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. His wife, Julie, with whom he shares a 2-year-old daughter, and his parents vowed to care for him at home. But in a candid May interview with WBZ-TV, Frates’ father, John, said the skyrocketing costs were surpassing $90,000 per month, and it was becoming impossible to continue caring for him.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“After 2.5 years of this type of expense, it’s becoming absolutely unsustainable for us,” John Frates told WBZ-TV. “We can’t afford it.”
However, according to The Salem News, the Frates family will receive some financial relief after being chosen by the ALS Association for a new program that covers the uninsured cost of skilled home care for several ALS patients in Massachusetts each year.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The decision comes after his family took to social media to announce that Frates had been admitted to the hospital for ALS-related issues on Sunday. The next day, Team FrateTrain posted a video of Frates on Facebook and Twitter featuring the former Boston College baseball standout listening to Pearl Jams’ “I’m Still Alive.”