Casey McIntyre.Photo:Casey McIntyre/ Instagram
Casey McIntyre/ Instagram
The New York woman who announced her own death on social media also organized a campaign to pay off other people’s medical debt — and raised more than half a million dollars to date.
On Nov. 14, Casey Ryan McIntyreshared news of her deathin a pre-planned obituary on her various social media pages. The 38-year-old vice president and publisher at Penguin Random House’s Razorbill died of stage four ovarian cancer, according to the posts.
“I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved,”she wrote at the time.
“I am so lucky to have had access to the best medical care at @MSKCancerCenter and am keenly aware that so many in our country don’t have access to good care,”she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $611,000 has beenraised via RIPMedialDebt.orgto support the cause.
Daniel Lempert, vice president of communications for RIP Medical Debt, says every dollar raised goes toward canceling $100 in debt, according toThe New York Times. Now, more than $60 million in medical debt could be wiped out nationwide.
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“Me and Casey’s family are stunned,” Andrew Gregory, McIntyre’s husband, told theTimeswhen donations were around $200,000. “We’re overwhelmed, and it’s been really powerful to see the response to people wanting to eliminate strangers’ medical debt.”
Lempert said the rapid success of McIntyre’s campaign is seemingly unprecedented. “I don’t know if we’ve ever seen something kind of raise as much money as Casey’s campaign has as quickly as it has,” he explained.
McIntyre was told she had ovarian cancer in 2019, according to theTimes. Still, Gregory said, she did what she could to maintain a positive mindset through her final years of life, much like she did before her diagnosis.
Now, her husband is thrilled to see the impact his late wife is still making on the world. “To see that Casey’s good and happy life is continuing in this way is very beautiful to me,” the 41-year-old told theTimes.
source: people.com
