冰桶挑戰發起人面臨沉重醫藥費負擔

The man who helped launch the massively successful ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is facing financial problems, as his family struggles to pay medical bills of about 1 million U.S. dollars each year, reported Boston Globe.

據《波士頓環球報》報道，發起極爲成功的冰桶挑戰的發起人，現在正面臨嚴重的經濟問題，他的家人每年都要支付高達100萬美元的醫藥費。

Pete Frates, 32, has suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, since 2012. He has lost control of his limbs and is now on a ventilator. His condition requires 24-hour care.

皮特·佛瑞特今年32歲，自2012年開始就患上了嚴重的肌肉萎縮症。他的四肢已經不聽使喚了，只能依賴呼吸機活下去，需要24小時不間斷的醫療護理。

The cost of his caring can run between 70,000 and 95,000 U.S. dollars each month, Boston Globe quoted his mom Nancy Frates as saying. The annual cost could go close to 1 million. His care is not covered by insurance.

《波士頓環球報》引述皮特母親南希·佛瑞特的話稱，他每月的醫療費用高達7萬至9.5萬美元，每年的費用接近100萬美元，但是這筆費用卻沒有保險可以報銷。

The ALS Association has a pilot program called the Pete Frates Home Health Initiative to help provide in-home care-giving assistance for individuals suffering from ALS in the U.S. State of Massachusetts, the article noted.

該報道指出，ALS協議有一個名爲“皮特·佛瑞特家庭健康倡議”的試點項目，爲美國馬塞諸塞州的ALS病人提供居家護理服務。

In 2014, the former Boston College baseball player thought of an idea to raise money for people with the degenerative disease.

2014年的時候，這位前波士頓大學棒球運動員想到了一個爲患有退步化疾病的病人籌集資金的主意。

It works like this: Dump a bucket of ice-cold water over your head, then challenge a friend or more to either do the same or donate money to the ALS Association.

想法是這樣的：從頭淋下一桶冰水，然後邀請其他人，要麼也做一次冰桶挑戰、要麼就給ALS協會捐錢。

It went viral. The CNN reported that more than 17 million people dumped ice water over their heads, and in eight weeks, the ALS Association raised more than 115 million dollars.

隨後，冰桶挑戰迅速風靡起來。據CNN報道，共有超過1700萬人進行了冰桶挑戰，而ALS協會在不到8周的時間內就募集了1.15億美元資金。

Numerous celebrities also took part in the global activity, such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga.

許多名人也參加到了這場全球性的活動中來，比如比爾·蓋茨、馬克·扎克伯格、奧普拉·溫弗瑞和Lady Gaga等。