

Help an indie developer literally stay alive - valryon
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-am-going-to-survive

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xutopia
Can someone explain to me why someone needs to raise money to get shrapnel out
of their body? I mean isn't there some safety net at all?

I'm seriously confused here. I'm Canadian and this seems so bizarre to me.

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jetti
It seems the most likely scenario is that she underestimated the legal system
and the lawyers took advantage of that. If she had taken the time to hire an
attorney, she probably wouldn't be in this situation.

That being said, it is hard to get money when the traditional methods
(insurance) fails when there is a somewhat high chance of not surviving the
surgery. The institutions capable of giving that kind of money are not doing
so out of the kindness of their hearts but to make a buck and if she dies
there will be no way to recoup that money.

As a side note, I think it would be interesting to make a crowd funding site
dedicated to raising money to cover health costs. Bring the "burden" back to
the community rather than the government. But that's just a passing thought
and not meant to spark a political debate.

~~~
pasbesoin
It is a system that takes people at their most vulnerable and squeezes them
for every last dime.

If you don't have good and capable family, friends, advocates looking out for
you, and if your own strength -- perhaps, likely even, also cognitive -- is
compromised, you're well on your way to being screwed.

Many other societies (although certainly not all, but many other "Western"
societies) have come to view healthcare as a primary means of investing in
their people and in a communal, mutually beneficial future. The U.S. derived
term "human resources" gives a hint at how human beings are viewed by many
institutions -- and individuals -- in the U.S. There is also a malaise of
short-term thinking; if you're not any good at the moment -- or rather, not
approximating some ideal choice or simulating the appearance of same -- you're
not worth any investment.

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valryon
Notice that, more than a debate about why we should donate to save her or not,
I think what's interesting here is that a Kickstarter-like website is used for
totally personnal and life-threating purpose for the first time.

Or at least successfully used like this for the first time, I can't recall any
other example.

~~~
laaph
I've known artist who have been using fundly to help pay cancer bills, which
is life-threatening and totally personal. Here is an example, an artist who
worked independently but his art is all over the place (on Magic the Gathering
cards among other places), and has broken the bank trying to pay medical
bills. <http://fundly.com/cyrilvanderhaegen>

I know he is not the only one using fundly that way.

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jetti
In a world of sensationalist headlines, I'm glad that I ended up clicking
this. To be honest, I truly thought that this was going to be about getting
funding so that a developer could pay rent and eat while they make the next
big thing. The world "literally" has been so overused that, to me, it has lost
its meaning. Glad I took the time and I really hope she reaches her goal as it
would be a shame to have more than enough for the surgery but not enough to
meet the goal and then not get funded.

~~~
nekgrim
The campaign is flexible, she will get all the money at the end, even if she's
under the goal.

~~~
jetti
I saw that after the fact. I have no experience with indiegogo and only
kickstarter which has the all or nothing funding rules.

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Nick_C
Page has gone or been removed. Here is google's cache:

[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4oX9yz4...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4oX9yz4CC5AJ:www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-am-
going-to-survive+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk)

~~~
scrapcode
Also note: "Your contribution to ‘I am going to survive’ has been refunded."

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jetti
Does anybody know what happened with this? I donated to the campaign and just
received an email saying that I've been refunded my donation and the page is
gone.

