Nick Dupree
Nicholas Folk Dupree (February 23, 1982 – February 18, 2017) was an American disability rights activist, artist, and writer. He is best known for Nick’s Crusade, a campaign that helped create a program to let ventilator-dependent people stay at home after they turn 21. The effort led to a special Alabama program benefiting 30 people, including Dupree and his younger brother.
Dupree was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, with a severe mitochondrial disease. Despite his illness, he learned to go to school, feed himself, and use a manual wheelchair as a child. In 1991 a surgical infection damaged his muscles, and he began using a feeding tube and a non-invasive ventilator. By 1994 he needed a tracheostomy and used a ventilator full-time. At 16, he attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, relying on a wheelchair and ventilator but continuing to work, create art, and communicate with a computer and an on-screen keyboard.
From 2008 he lived in New York City with his partner, Alejandra Ospina, a fellow disability rights activist. In 2010 the two held a public commitment ceremony in Central Park to highlight concerns that marriage could affect disability benefits.
On February 10, 2003, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced a limited Alabama program to fund in-home services for Dupree, his brother, and 28 others turning 21. The program was a first step and was limited to Alabama.
Dupree was a prolific self-published webcomic artist, creating many portraits of family and friends, some shown publicly in New York. He enjoyed writing and was working on a memoir.
He died in New York City on February 18, 2017, after months spent in hospitals and nursing homes, where he had hoped to avoid living. He had developed sepsis and suffered heart failure following long battles with infections. His life and work inspired many in the disability rights community.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:01 (CET).