Family Of Pete Frates, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Creator, Says 'He Is Resting Comfortably' In Hospital

(This article and headline were updated to include the statement from Pete Frates' family that he is resting in hospital)

The family of Pete Frates, the man who created the Ice Bucket Challenge that raised millions for the cure of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease, issued a statement on social media early Monday, saying that the former Boston College baseball player, who was admitted to hospital Friday, is resting comfortably at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The statement came minutes after reports surfaced online that Frates had died of ALS disease.

"Pete's family wants everyone to know that he is resting comfortably at MGH - the docs, medicine, prayers, love continue to help him get stronger," his mother Nancy said.

Earlier reports had said Frates, 32, had died late Sunday. The family of Frates had announced Friday that Frates was back in the hospital fighting the disease.

Those reports were based on an erroneous tweet by journalist Mike Barnicle. He later deleted the tweet and issued a correction, saying a family friend of Frates had given him the wrong information.

“I hate ALS. Back at MGH for Pete,” Frates’ mother Nancy wrote Friday on Twitter. She later wrote on the Team Frate Train page on Facebook: “Please keep our family and especially Pete in your prayers. Pete is back at MGH and battling this beast like a superhero. We feel your love and support and are so grateful. Prayers and love – the most powerful of medicines! Thank you.”

Frates was 27 in March 2012 when he was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons, which control all voluntary movements of a human body, is largely affected by the disease. There are two different types of ALS, sporadic and familial, and the former is the most common form of the disease in the U.S., accounting for 90 to 95 percent of all cases. There is currently no cure for the disease.

In 2014, Frates family started the Ice Bucket Challenge that the internet by storm to help raise awareness for ALS. The campaign went viral worldwide and raised more than $250 million. The challenge attracted donations from Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, Bill Gates and many other celebrities.

On June 29, Frates' wife Julie shared an image on Twitter of the two in a hospital bed as he was being treated. She wrote: "Typical day for big P and I... 10 hours in hospital followed by a relaxing night of nebulizer and gas masks."

Social media reacted to erroneous report by Barnicle.