Turning to others for help, the family of an U.S. Irishman launched a crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, after they had cancelled their medical coverage to pay towards a college fund. Ronan Winter was diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer just six months ago. The business consultant, who had left Ireland during the recession of 1989, was living in California with wife and two daughters.
A healthy Mr. Winter decided to cancel the life insurance he had been paying into for 15 years and to concentrate on creating a college fund for his teenager daughters. On December 23, 2013, he received the shocking news of his cancer diagnosis and within weeks the disease had spread into his lungs, spin, liver and arms. Two months after that, he suffered a stroke that left him unable to eat and talk.
Family friend Michelle Nagelvoort began an online crowdfunding campaign to help the family with the large amounts of medical bills, explaining, “Sadly this cancer changed all plans and now this young family has no income and the college funds will be left unfulfilled.”
Paying tribute to Mr. Winter, his niece Courtney Russell wrote on Imgur, “Originally from Ireland, my uncle moved to the States, gained citizenship and eventually married my aunt. Even after all these years, he’s still got the cool accent. He has an insatiable zest for life, he wanted to see the world and he wanted to see it with his family by his side.”
Posting photos of her uncle before and after the devastating diagnosis, Courtney revealed the dedication Mr. Winter had for his two girls. “He lives for them. His ultimate goal is to see them go off to the colleges of their dreams and be all they can ever possibly want to be. His children and his wife are two of the most important things in his life. He would go to the ends of the earth for them.”
Also explaining how the doctors have done all they can do for Mr. Winter, Courtney penned, “Because of his stroke, paired with where the tumors are located, he began to eat less and less. He began to whither away. His girls get to watch him slowly whither into nothing. He cannot speak, he hardly eats, and he sleeps most of the day. It’s absolutely devastating.”
Unfortunately, for the family, Mr. Winter passed away on May 10th. During this time, his wife Diana was the primary carer of the home and was faced with paying not only the medical expenses, but also the mortgage and household bills. The goal was to raise $200,000 and so far the campaign has received $115,263.
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