Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio Save Life of Complete Stranger
Gemma Nuttall of Lancashire, England, was diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer when she was pregnant with her daughter.
She refused treatment, knowing that she might be trading her life for that of her unborn baby.
Eventually, Nuttall survived the 6 to 12-month life expectancy and started radiation and chemotherapy after she gave birth. After completing the treatment, she learned that the cancer had moved to her brain.
This time, Nuttall had to develop a more extreme strategy to survive. She started a rigorous immunotherapy treatment at a clinic in Germany.
The only problem was the price. The treatment cost $98,000 a session, which was far more than Nuttall could afford.
It was then that an unlikely person stumbled across her story. Kate Winslet had just lost her mother and was researching these “wonder clinics” when she heard of Nuttall’s financial troubles through the latter’s GoFundMe page.
“I just thought ‘I can’t have this happen,’” Winslet told British TV show This Morning. “My own mother was very, very unwell, and I just thought my mum would be incredibly proud if I could do this for somebody else, for another young mum.”
After contacting Nuttall’s mother, Winslet set her fundraising campaign in motion. She raised nearly $300,000 on her own before she decided to call in the big guns.
“I phoned Leo and I said, ‘Do you think we could do a charity dinner or something?’” Winslet recalled.
“And he said, ‘Let’s go one better. Come with me to St. Tropez, to my big fundraiser for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation,’ which is back in July, ‘and we will auction off a dinner with Jack and Rose.’”
The two ended up auctioning three dinners for a total of $1.35 million. They split the earnings between the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and Nuttall’s doctor’s bills.
When it was all said and done, Nuttall had far more than enough money for her treatment. They raised so much that Winslet and Nuttall were able to set up their own foundation.
“I am now able to set up another foundation — which Gemma is going to help me run and be involved with — another foundation which will specifically help individuals who are in exactly the position that Gemma has been in,” said Winslet.
“So, so much good has come out of this remarkable moment,” Winslet said. “I mean look at Gemma. Look at her.
“She is so beautiful. She is alive. She is cancer-free. It is utterly incredible. I feel so blessed that I could help.”
Thanks to the help of these two celebrities, this young mother is now doing well and can look forward to a life of love and learning with her new little one.
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