Nick Dupree

Early life Dupree was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, on February 23, 1982, with an unknown mitochondrial disease believed to be related to the metabolic cycle and carnitine. Despite the disease, he was able to go to school by himself, feed himself, and use a manual wheelchair for several years into his childhood. On September 13, 1991, an infected surgical site during a Luque rods surgery triggered a collapse that killed Dupree's remaining muscle tone. Death Dupree died on February 18, 2017. He had spent the last 9.5 months of his life living in hospital and nursing home environments, which he had always sought to avoid. He developed sepsis and suffered cardiac failure after many months of facility-acquired infections. == Activism ==

Nick's Crusade Dupree organized "Nick's Crusade", a campaign which attempted to gain continued in-home services for Alabamians with disabilities who are over the age of 21. On February 10, 2003, United States Department of Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson announced a limited program in Alabama that would fund in-home services for Dupree, his younger brother, and 28 others who were turning 21 shortly. == Other activities ==

Dupree was a prolific webcomic artist who self-published a variety of comics in different styles. He also enjoyed creating self-portraits, along with portraits of family and friends, some of which were exhibited publicly in New York City. Dupree was active on podcaster Dan Carlin's message boards. Carlin recorded an episode about healthcare in his honor. Dupree enjoyed writing and was working on his memoir before his death. ==References==