Carlow teen’s viral video raises €675,155 for cancer treatment
18-year-old Shauntelle Tynan from Carlow made a heart-wrenching plea via viral video for funding for her rare form of cancer, and in 36 hours the remaining funding was raised.
The total came to €675,155, above and beyond the necessary €500,000.
Shan was diagnosed with multi-system Langheran’s cell histiocytosis in May 2015, and since then, her community has been funding her specialist treatment at theTexas Children’s Hospital.
In the video, which has been viewed over 50,000 times, the teen explained how her disorder is unable to be treated in the EU and Ireland due to a lack of knowledge about the type of cancer, so she must seek help from a specialist in Texas, which means she does not qualify for the HSE’s Treatment Abroad Scheme.
The Carlow teen took to Facebook to profusely thank everyone who has donated to her cause, which may very well save her life.
"The last 38 hours has been a place of love and the people of Ireland have truly came together to help me get better and for that I'm truly thankful. There has been few haters but millions of lovers and each person showing positivity helps us through each day and we are truly over the moon," she said.
"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. 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."
The teen has been documenting her treatment and lifestyle on YouTube for the past year, but the latest video pushed the public into action and secured the final funding for her treatment.
The funds were raised by 26,872 people over the last 5 months, but many of the donations came in since her video went viral.
“We thought there was a virus or something wrong because every time we looked at the Go Fund Me it was just going up. There was just thousands and thousands,” she told the Irish Times.