The case of newlyweds Matthew Schreindorfer and Katia Luciani of Laval is an example of the massive potential of online crowdfunding, and proof that flash philanthropy campaigns can have happy endings.
When Schreindorfer and Luciani returned from their honeymoon last August, he started feeling perpetually exhausted, and suffered from mild cold symptoms and fever for five weeks. Two months after they were married, Schreindorfer, 25, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments in Quebec failed to stop its progress.
The couple learned of experimental gene therapy treatment offered at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, that involved modifying his white blood cells in a lab and reinjecting them into his body to attack the cancer cells. The catch: the treatment cost $675,000, not covered by medicare. The couple turned to the youcaring.com crowdfunding site, and since then have surpassed their goal of $800,000.
Schreindorfer received the treatment in February. In April he announced there are no cancer cells left in his body.
“You have all helped save my life with your encouragements, donations and support and I will be forever grateful,” he wrote on Facebook. “I will never forget this moment in my life where so many strangers came together to give me a second chance at life!”
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