Mom, 38, who announced her own death on social media, planned a final, touching act for strangers
A Brooklyn mother who announced her own death Tuesday in a heartbreaking social media post also performed one last act of kindness toward strangers before she passed away.
Casey McIntyre, 38, died Sunday of ovarian cancer and her story went viral after she announced her own death on a heartbreaking message.
She preemptively wrote the statement to assure her family and friends that she knew how “deeply” they loved her.
However, while planning his own demise, McIntyre also decided to complete one last good deed and encouraged others to join in.
“To celebrate my life, I have arranged to purchase the medical debts of others and then destroy them. I am very lucky to have had access to the best medical care in [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center] and I am very aware that many people in our country do not have access to good care.” she wrote in with a link to your donation page.
McIntyre associated with RIP Medical Debt (a New York-based nonprofit that purchases medical debt at cost to alleviate patients’ looming payments) to create its own campaign to shed light on its mounting financial woes to outsiders.
According to new research from PerryUndema nonpartisan public opinion research firm, nearly seven in 10 American adults say they receive medical bills they cannot pay, and six in 10 patients report they have self-treated, delayed or skipped medical and dental appointments due to the increase in the costs.
“Through the charity RIP Medical Debt, we are buying the medical debt of others and destroying it,” her husband Andrew Gregory explained in his obituary published on Instagram.
“Every penny buys about $1, which is an eye-opening look at both our power to eliminate medical debt and how fictitious and fabricated so much overwhelming medical debt is.”
As the devastating announcement of McIntyre’s death went viral, so did his campaign, which increased its goal several times over, quickly surpassing each monetary milestone.
As of Thursday morning, the fund had raised $76,776 and raised the goal to $100,000, nearly doubling overnight.
A memorial service for McIntyre is scheduled for Dec. 2 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Boathouse, where mourners will “celebrate his life by anonymously purchasing medical debt and then anonymously forgiving it.”
McIntyre was a loving, family-centered mother and editor at Razorbill, a Penguin Random House imprint that publishes children’s and young adult books.
His story melted hearts around the world for the first time on Tuesday when his posts on X and Instagram broke the news of his death to many.
“A note to my friends: if you are reading this it means I have passed away.” his devastating post began.
“I’m so sorry, they’re horses and we both know it.”
The tragic message accompanied a series of photos showing McIntyre smiling surrounded by her loved ones, particularly her husband and 18-month-old daughter, Grace.
“I loved each and every one of you with all my heart and I promise you that I knew how deeply you loved me,” he insisted, adding that the last five months he spent in hospice at home with his family and friends were “magical.” “
Gregory noted that publication was unfortunately interrupted due to his deteriorating health.
“Casey intended to end this post with a list of things that were a comfort and joy to her during her life, and I am heartbroken that I will never see that list,” he wrote.
He imagined that his wife of eight years would have included his “daughter Grace, whales, ice cream, his dear friends, being at the beach, his niece and nephews whom he adored unbelievably, reading 10 books during a week of vacation, his loving parents and his sister and his incredible family spread out, swimming, a perfect roast beef sandwich and me, her sweet, sweet honey.”
Gregory asked McIntyre’s friends to comment on the comfort or joy they shared with her.
His family fondly recalled that McIntyre “always knew which wineries had the best magazine selections, which restaurants were best for watching celebrities on your lunch break, and gave every new New Yorker the advice: Be sure to buy a coat that covers his butt, because that’s where a lot of warmth is lost.”
They also added that “his greatest gifts and joys were his willing and generous wit, his easy laugh, his devotion to his family and friends, and his amazing determination and courage.”
