Anonymous donor gives woman $128K for medical bills

OTTOWA, Canada (KGO) -- A Canadian woman will receive a potentially lifesaving treatment thanks to an overwhelmingly generous stranger.

Stephanie Headley suffers from a rare autoimmune disease called systemic scleroderma. Just moving, breathing, and talking is very difficult. The disease makes her skin turn hard as stone and eventually will cause her organs to fail.

She was originally diagnosed in 2002, and doctors told her she'd eventually die, but she didn't want to leave her four kids without a mother.

So Headley researched and found treatment, but the $125,000 stem cell therapy wasn't covered by her insurance.

She and her kids started an online fundraising campaign. But after two months, they'd only raised about $13,000.

Then, out of the blue, Headley got a call from a man who wanted to drop off a donation. She says he came by 10 minutes later wearing a disguise. He said nothing and handed her an envelope.

After going inside to open it, she found the envelope contained a money order for $128,000.

"I fell to the ground," Headley said. "I cried and screamed. I yelled to thank this man, whoever you are out there, from the bottom of our hearts for saving my life and sparing my children the pain of losing their mother."

Headley is scheduled to begin treatments in Sept.

She hopes to one day meet the anonymous donor.