‘I’m a dreamer’: Kamloops musician raises $82k for boyfriend’s stem cell treatment

“He has a complete spinal cord injury so it means there’s a complete sever,” she said. “There’s no chance of him regaining function or healing and I was like, ‘No, that’s not possible.’ The optimist in me is like, ‘Nothing’s impossible. I’m a dreamer.’ So I started to research stem cells and hearing about these amazing stories and different clinics that offer stem cell treatment.”

The treatment the couple were looking into came with a big price tag at $75,000.

“I was like, ‘I will do everything I can to find the money,'” Olds said. “I had kind of started TikTok-ing and seeing some people get the support that they needed through the app. It’s a really great community; everybody rises to the occasion.”

In September, Olds posted a dance on TikTok to raise money for the stem cell treatment. The response was overwhelming.

“People loved him,” she said. “Derek didn’t even dance, I danced with him and they were like, ‘Wow, this is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.’ I was like, ‘What?’ And then we just kind of started to do it. He had no idea what I was doing at the beginning.”

Eventually Olds tagged famous YouTuber David Dobrik in one of her dances. He responded by partnering with Postmates to provide the couple with $50,000, pushing Olds over her goal.

“I still can’t believe how much everybody has supported us. Obviously David Dobrik and Postmates gave their really, really generous donation, but it was every other person in between that donated their little bit from their rent or their car payment or their phone payment or their grocery bills.”

Olds says she and Derek will travel to Colombia for his treatment once it is safe to do so.

by Jill Sperling

‘I’m a dreamer’: Kamloops musician raises $82k for boyfriend’s stem cell treatment

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