An Ottawa woman has received the gift of life in the way of a bank draft. An anonymous donor appeared at her doorstep, giving her $128,000 to help with potentially lifesaving treatment in the United States. For this single mother of four, it is the answer to her prayers.
Stephanie Headley suffers from a fatal auto-immune disease called systemic scleroderma. The pain is so bad now, that Headley requires injectable narcotics every two hours. The disease causes an overproduction of collagen which is causing her skin and organs to harden.
“It can cause your skin to harden horrifically,” explains Headley, “from the point of turning to stone, very tight skin. Internally, it is causing everything from my arteries and veins to internal organs to harden as well.”
Headley turns 48 on Thursday. The young mother is determined to live and started researching treatment options. She found hope through stem cell therapy at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The procedure, which is performed by Dr. Richard Burt, has had success with other autoimmune diseases. But the therapy carries a heavy price tag: $125-thousand dollars US. In May of this year, the family launched an appeal on-line to raise money.
"I kept saying to Steph, something dramatic will happen,” recalls Peter Headley, Stephanie’s father.
The family’s on-line appeal had amassed $13-thousand dollars, a respectable amount but not nearly enough for the treatment. Headley’s health was continuing to decline but her father was adamant something good was going to happen. Then, on July 3rd, a man called, wanting to drop of a bank draft. He arrived within ten minutes of calling.
“Standing at the door was very tall, 6’ 2” slender, middle aged man wearing a cap,” recalls Stephanie, “with big ski sunglasses, not the ones you'd normally wear at this time of year and a spring jacket done right up.”
Without a word, he handed Stephanie an envelope.
“Just as he turned to leave, I said “God bless you” and he smiled, a big smile and he turned around and left.”
Inside the envelope was a bank draft for $128-thousand dollars.
“I just started crying,” says Stephanie, “I dropped to the floor, and I dropped my (oxygen) tank and collapsed.”
Stephanie’s 18-year-old daughter Skylar was instrumental in starting the on-line request for help.
"When I saw the cheque,” says Skylar Skinkle, “I didn't believe it was real and when I stopped crying, I said this is my mom's life on a piece of paper.”
The money is still coming in, again from perfect strangers like Bob McBride, who also just felt compelled to act.
“It just touched my heart,” says McBride, who dropped of a donation as our television crew was there, “She's got all the cards stacked against her and hopefully this can help save her life.”
Stephanie Headley now has an appointment to begin treatment in Chicago on September 22nd. She will need to be assessed at first to ensure that she is strong enough to undergo the treatment. She is overwhelmed by the generosity of our community and the kindness of strangers and plans to lobby the Canadian government to bring this treatment here, once her health is better.
“I want him to know he's done more than save my life and save my children,” says Headley, “but he is the catalyst for saving so many Canadians’ lives because I'm on a mission now. He's given me that mission.”
As for the man behind that big donation? No one knows.
