In A Medical Crisis, Small Gestures Are Life-Changing

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Have you ever had to ask for a gift you didn’t want to receive? Megan Costello and her family did.

In 2015, her father Jay was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a treatable but incurable blood cancer. The family quickly realized that they would need help — help not only with financial burdens of a medical emergency, but so much more. Help keeping the house stocked with groceries and supplies. Help planning and delivering meals. Help with transportation between hospital stays. So Megan started asking for help online, fundraising via a GoFundMe page. She's not alone — nearly 1 in 3 such campaigns are for assistance in times of medical emergencies.

In a proud Midwestern family, it was hard at times to ask for that level of help, over and over, treatment after treatment. But when they asked, people came through for them.

Speaking with Anne, Megan explains how much that support meant to her family, and how they try to pay that gratitude forward.