Donations for beloved former Gopher Casey O’Brien soar past $250K in 24 hours

Casey O’Brien, the beloved former Minnesota Gopher who has been an inspiration to so many throughout his cancer battles, seems to be feeling the love in return, for once.

On Monday night, O’Brien announced that cancer recently returned in his lung, liver and lower back. He added that traditional treatments haven’t worked and insurance isn’t covering newer options that he’s now exploring, leaving him to ask for some financial help.

Within 24 hours, donations to his GoFundMe page soared past $250,000.

Related: Former Gopher Casey O’Brien battling cancer for 8th time

“WOW!!! We are so thankful for all the amazing outpouring of support,” O’Brien posted Tuesday night. “Our family is overwhelmed and humbled by the response we have seen in the last 24 hours. Our goal was $250,000 to meet our anticipated expenses. We have now bumped the goal to $350,000 to continue to allow donations for unforeseen expenses. Your generosity continues to inspires us.”

O’Brien was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, when he was 13. Over the past decade, he’s beaten not only that but seven relapses.

Along the way, he chased his college football dreams, getting into two games for the Gophers as a holder on point-after attempts and serving as an inspiration to so many others. He was recognized with the Disney Spirit Award in 2019 and used his platform to try to inspire and help others battling cancer.

While nobody wanted to see him go through another cancer battle, it’s heartwarming to see the support he’s received after giving so much to so many others over the years.

Anyone interested in donating to help O’Brien can do so here .