Marina Killoran is making another plea for support in funding her life saving surgery.
Marina, who is 45 years old, suffers from an incurable auto-immune disease called Systemic Scleroderma and has said that she will die is she doesn’t get this surgery.
The stem cell transplant which Marina hopes to receive in The Northwest Memorial Hospital in Chicago costs $125,000.
The surgery, which is currently not available in Ireland, with the help of Dr Richard Burt in Chicago and online donations will save Marina’s life.
There has been a lot of media coverage around Marina’s story and that has helped to raise roughly half of the funds through the iFundraise account set up by the family but they’re not there yet.
Marina’s husband Alan told The Independent: "Marina's spirits have been lifted incredibly since the media sent the campaign into the stratosphere - but she is still afraid to be hopeful in case we don't reach the target in time."
The family worries that Marina will continue to deteriorate in the months waiting for funds and might not be well enough to go ahead with the transplant in a few months.
Marina, her husband Alan and her two daughters, Shannon (20) and Erin (16) are all pleading with the public to help raise enough funds to save her life.
Alan had said before they knew of the transplant he “had resigned myself to the fact that I was just going to be a widower and spend the rest of my days struggling on without the love of my wife.”
But now the family are cautiously optimistic that they can get the funds together and save Marina's life.
You can donate to Marina's stem cell transplant here.
