Man behind Ice Bucket Challenge overwhelmed with medical bills

According to his family his care costs somewhere between $85,000 to $95,000 each month

Cynics might have rebuffed the campaign as a stunt but it helped raise tonnes of money, with the association raising more than $115 million in just eight weeks alone (Reuters)

The man who dreamt up the widely successful Ice Bucket Challenge is plagued with medical bills due to his worsening case of motor neurone disease.

Pete Frates is currently on life support in his bedroom which has been turned into an intensive care unit. According to his family, his care costs somewhere between $85,000 and $95,000 each month.

In spite of the mounting costs, which have reached as much as $3,000 a day, his wife has said relocating him to a facility is not an option because it is imperative he gets to see their two-year-old daughter.

"Pete's life would be over," Julie Frates told US news outlet WBZ.

Mr Frates is recognised as having generated more than $250 million via the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which started in 2014. He thought up the challenge to raise awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is also known as motor neurone disease and in America as Lou Gehrig's Disease, and encourage donations to research surrounding it.

The campaign, which was centred on the simple premise of putting a bucket of ice-cold water over your head and then challenging a friend to do the same or donate money to The ALS Association, was an overnight success.

(Getty Images (Getty Images)

Dozens of high-profile individuals, such as George W Bush, Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey, Rita Ora, Mark Zuckerberg, Anna Wintour and Robert Downey Jr, took part in the challenge.

Cynics might have initially rebuffed the campaign as a stunt but it helped raise tonnes of money, with the association raising more than $115 million in just eight weeks alone. On top of this, more than 17 million people chucked ice cold water over their heads.

"Any family would be broke because of this," Mr Frates' father, John, said of his son’s ill health.

There will be a fundraiser held in honour of Mr Frates, a former Boston College baseball player who has had ALS since 2012, on 5 June.