Teen Couldn't Afford Her Medical Costs, But Her Heartbreaking Video Changed Everything

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Teen Couldn't Afford Her Medical Costs, But Her Heartbreaking Video Changed Everything

It's always difficult when young people are affected by a terrible disease, but it's even worse when things seem hopeless.

Just a week ago that's the situation Shauntelle Tynan, an 18-year-old from Ireland, found herself in. She's living with Langheran's cell histiocytosis, a very rare condition involving blood cells that affects multiple different systems of the body.

To treat her condition, she has to make costly trips to visit specialists in Houston, Texas. Her community has already paid for five trips to see them, but when Tynan's family heard she would need to make a year-long trip, it seemed like there was no way they could raise the money.

Then, Shauntelle made a YouTube video explaining her situation:


People across Ireland and around the world rushed to donate to Shauntelle's GoFundMe page. In less than 2 days, she raised around 425,000 Euros. To date, she's raised a stunning €645,000, well beyond the €500,000 her family had hoped for.

This was a relief to Shauntelle's mother Leona, who sent letter after letter to the Irish government, trying to get them to help Shauntelle.

"I haven't stopped crying, I haven't slept," she said on a local radio station. "We live in a mighty little country and I can't believe that people have been so good."

This is already the biggest Irish campaign on GoFundMe ever, and the donations haven't stopped coming in. Andrew Murphy, an MMA fighter from Belfast, has pledged to give his profits from his next match to Shauntelle.

Shauntelle said that she's "truly thankful" for the incredible generosity of the strangers that paid for her trip.

"The good always outshines the bad and I now have a true chance at beating this and it is all down to all who shared, commented and donated," she said. "I am so excited for my little brother and sister to come home from school to hear that I have made enough to go to Texas."

There's no update yet on how soon Shauntelle will be able to start her treatment, but the good news is maybe her whole family will be able to come along now that they've raised so much for her.

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