Firefighter pays family's $1,000 electric bill, but story takes sad turn

Clinton Township, Mich. — According to

, Troy Stone, the teen who was battling muscular dystrophy, has died.

The family's GoFundMe page says that Stone died Friday.

His family's struggle to pay the electricity bill due to Stone's need to be connected to several machines led to an act of kindness that went viral.

Firefighter Ryan McCuen never knows what the next call will bring.

Responding to a nonemergency medical call in Clinton Township, Michigan, in February, McCuen, found Troy Stone, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, connected to seven life-saving machines, which only had hours left on their reserve batteries after the family's electricity was cut off by the power company.

So McCuen did what he felt he was supposed to do, he paid the Stone's more than $1,000 bill.

"When (Stone's mother) explained the unpaid bill, her family's situation and how she didn't know what to do, it was a no brainer for me," McCuen told ABC News.

Stone, 18, has limited movement of his arms and legs and can no longer breathe on his own.

Christy Stone, Troy's mother, is overwhelmed with medical costs. Her 15-year-old son also has muscular dystrophy, he does not need a ventilator but relies on a wheelchair, according to ABC News.

Stone told CNN she gave DTE Energy a letter from her doctor's office that stating that there must be power to the home to maintain the life support equipment.

"They said it wasn't the doctor's signature on it, it was the nurse's signature on it," she told CNN. "So they said it was denied."

The energy company issued a statement.

"This is a very unfortunate situation that we are working to rectify immediately," DTE Energy said in a release. "We will be working with this customer to get her the assistance she needs, which is the normal process we follow when our customers are faced with challenges in paying their bills. And we will be donating to the preferred charity of the generous and selfless firefighter who stepped up."

Stone thanked McCuen recently by delivering a balloon, card and cookies to the him at the station.

Cox Media Group