Brooklyn man who lost wife to cancer raising money to clear others' medical debts in her memory
NEW YORK -- A Brooklyn mother who recently lost her battle with cancer was adamant about helping other families dealing with medical debt, and now, her loved ones are making sure her dream comes true.
Casey McIntyre spent the final months of her life surrounded by the people she loved.
"We had a fantastic summer where we were at the beach. We were at the river. We were fishing. We were playing with our daughter in the water. It was a bonus summer," McIntyre's husband, Andrew Rose Gregory, said.
The 38-year-old was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer in October 2018. Treatment helped, but it returned in September 2021, then Stage 4.
"Chemotherapy monthly or chemotherapy eventually weekly. You're doing rehab after surgery. You're doing rehab after an emergency surgery that you almost died in. She went through a lot," Gregory said.
The last number of years were trying, but a sliver of hope shined through. The couple was doing IVF while McIntyre was in remission.
"We found out that we were expecting our child in August of 2021, and about two weeks later, we found out Casey's cancer was back," Gregory said.
Grace was born via a surrogate.
This time around, treatment didn't work for McIntyre. She was eventually released from the hospital in June for hospice care at home.
"Casey had lost so much weight. All of her blood counts were so low," Gregory said.
While facing her own mortality, the new mother learned about the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt on social media. Along with her husband of eight years, they began donating to help other people.
Now, he's started a campaign in her honor.
"RIP Medical Debt destroys about a dollar of medical debt for every penny that is donated. So if we raise $100,000, that will be $10 million of medical debt that is canceled out," Gregory said.
McIntyre passed away Sunday morning. She helped plan her own memorial, to be held in December, and how she wants her daughter to remember her.
She was fortunate to have no medical debt left behind but wanted to make sure other families didn't have that stress to deal with.
To contribute to McIntyre's fundraiser, click here.