Lynn Man Hopes 'Pie Face Challenge' Raises Awareness For Gastroparesis
BOSTON (CBS) - He's trying to create the next Ice Bucket Challenge, this time with a pie in the face to find a cure for a devastating illness.
He's got some of the Red Sox on board and now this young man from Lynn is hoping super star Tom Brady joins the team to push the effort over the finish line.
It's spreading across the internet. People with a pie tin filled with whipped cream who hit themselves in the face with it. It looks like an old Three Stooges bit re-born. It's called the Gastroparesis Pie Face Challenge.
Nineteen year old Andrew Belliveau from Lynn invented it because he has it. "Gastroparesis is essentially paralyzation of the stomach meaning you can't eat, digest or absorb any nutrients whatsoever, and it causes symptoms such as constant nausea, vomiting, bloating and obviously malnutrition," Andrew explains.
He was diagnosed when he was 11. "It's a very rare condition, and sadly, there's no cure," he adds.
Andrew is a huge Boston sports fan. There's even a replica of the Green Monster in his bedroom. His condition is controlled because of a pacemaker implanted in his stomach. It sends out electrical impulses that help him digest. But it doesn't work for everyone.
"It's just a very isolating condition, and I think it's time the world knew about gastroparesis," he says.
Enter the Pie Face Challenge which is growing fast. A half-dozen Red Sox players have taken the pie face plunge, spreading the whipped cream goodwill in hopes that you will, too.
Now Andrew is hoping number 12, Tom Brady himself, takes one for the team and pushes the pie face challenge to the next level. "I will never forget this Super Bowl. There's no quit in him and that's what people with gastroparesis have to tell themselves, just don't give up," says Andrew.
Right now there's no cure for gastroparesis, so Andrew is asking people who take the pie face challenge to make a donation to G-Pact, a non-profit that is working to change that.