A Whangārei woman who thought she needed to raise $36,000 to have jaw surgery has now exceeded her goal thanks to generous donations from Stuff readers, including one ‘angel’ donor who wants to cover the whole shortfall.

Kate Greenaway, 25, needs a jaw joint replacement on her left side, due to a rare, inherited connective tissue disorder, called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

It would take at least three years to get the surgery publicly, through a pathway that is not clear nor guaranteed, Greenaway said she was told by a specialist.

But she is unable to wait that long. In less than six months, she has lost more than a third of her body weight, due to malnutrition linked to not being able to eat, plus fear of pain if she does eat.

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Instead, Greenaway is having the surgery privately, with her private health insurer, Southern Cross, funding up to $60,000.

She was quoted $96,000 by an Auckland surgeon, leaving a $36,000 shortfall for her to raise – a goal made harder after she had to leave her various jobs due to ill health.

A Stuff story about Greenaway’s plight saw an outpouring of support for the young woman on a Givealittle page, set up by a friend to help cover the shortfall.

Donors gave more than $17,000 by Wednesday morning, wishing her luck for the surgery and a healthy life ahead with her fiance.

But one “angel” donor, moved by how much Greenaway has gone through with so much life ahead of her, has agreed to fund the entire shortfall with a direct donation.

Greenaway said the man’s donation and the Givealittle page donations means her goal has been reached.

”We’re all just a bit blown away,” she said.

In another stroke of luck, the original quote was found to have accidentally included the jaw joint prosthesis twice, meaning the amount to raise is now $10,000 less.

However, Greenaway needs to have a contingency to cover any problems, plus faces extra costs having to source a non-dairy nutritional feed, which she would receive through her feeding tube, from the United States until she had the surgery.

Planning for the surgery is already under way and is estimated as four months away.

This is the second time Greenaway has needed the jaw surgery – called temporomandibular​ joint (TMJ) replacement.

In late 2020, she had to raise $75,000 to have the jaw surgery on her right side, with the surgery successfully going ahead in May 2021.

Sadly, the celebration was short-lived, as the left side quickly deteriorated. Constant dislocations led to it being wired shut in November 2021, followed by a series of minor surgeries which were unsuccessful.

Greenaway has plenty of plans for life after the surgery, from being able to eat to getting married and starting a family, plus studying in the field of medicine, after having to give up being a paramedic years ago due to ill health.