Guillermo del Toro is known as the owner of an inordinate amount of creepy and scary statues and figurines, but he’s also built up a reputation of using his wealth for good. It’s thanks to him that Jorge R. Gutierrez got a chance to share The Book of Life, an animated Día de Muertos story, with the world. And on Wednesday, his generosity brought one woman to tears.
On December 13, Mónica de la Paz tweeted at GdT, simply asking for a signal boost. She wanted him to retweet the GoFundMe page to help her friend, Cassandra Hollingsworth, pay for her biopsy. “Guillermo, can I share this link with you of a friend from Texas who needs to raise a little more than $900 for a biopsy,” de la Paz wrote in a tweet. “Her insurance won’t pay for it, and she needs to know if she has relapsed from cancer. Please, from one tapitio to another!! Can you RT?”
GdT, whose follower count exceeds 800,000, wrote one simple message: “It’s been paid. ;)”
Cassandra started the GoFundMe page because she discovered a lump on her neck a few months ago. After several doctor appointments and because of her history of cancer, she knew she needed to get a biopsy. By Wednesday, she had raised a few hundred dollars, but GdT donated the final $665 for the exam.
“Here’s how I spent my day: Trying not to cry at work knowing that I had to reschedule the biopsy due to lack of funds,” Cassandra wrote in an update. “… Encouraged by friends, family, and strangers’ enormously generous $180 of donations in a day. Shocked and amazed when around 8:30 tonight a huge donation came in that met my goal, plus a little more, rounding out this campaign to $1,000. I was shocked breathless. I couldn’t believe it. I’m still not quite sure I do, but the number is there for all to see.”
Cassandra says the donations will allow her to enjoy the holidays this year. ? ? ?
H/T Verne