November 5, 2025

A GoFundMe Campaign in Memory of Crystal Mammoliti Goes Viral

Funds raised will support a research fellowship in lung disease at St. Joe’s

As her name suggests, Crystal Mammoliti sparkled wherever she went. She was an engaging and fun-loving mother and grandmother with an infectious smile. She was a loving wife of 40 years to her husband Pasquale and the couple had two children, Vanessa and Pasquale Jr.

According to Crystal’s family, she was living her best life in retirement. She loved to shop, read, and attend her regular yoga classes. She got together with a group of girlfriends every Wednesday. She was always on the floor playing and dancing around the room with her granddaughter. She had a boundless energy that betrayed her 62 years.

So, last fall, when Crystal suddenly seemed more tired than usual and her toes turned an alarming shade of purple, her family knew something was wrong. Following a visit to the Emergency Department and the completion of a battery of tests, there still were no clear answers, nor a diagnosis.

But based on Crystal’s persistent and progressive breathlessness, she was referred to the regional leader in lung health, the Firestone Clinic for Respiratory Care at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Dr. Nathan Hambly was Crystal’s respirologist. Crystal’s husband Pasquale says he knew from the moment they met him, that they were in good hands.

But Crystal’s condition seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. Preliminary diagnostic testing indicated that Crystal was experiencing pulmonary hypertension. She went home but soon returned as her breathing became increasingly laboured. This time, Crystal was admitted to the intensive care unit, and despite the initiation of targeted therapies, the condition of her heart and lungs progressively declined. Within a week, Crystal passed away in a palliative care suite at St. Joe’s. Her husband and family were equal parts shocked and devastated.

It wasn’t until a few weeks after Crystal’s passing that clinicians were able to determine she had passed away from a very rare form of Pulmonary Hypertension called Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease – where irreversible blockages form in the veins of the lungs. It was possible this disease was due to Crystal living with an undiagnosed autoimmune disease called scleroderma.

While the answers came too late, the Mammoliti family was grateful that Dr. Hambly and his colleagues had continued working to find their family the answers they needed to come to terms with the devastating loss of their beloved wife, mother and grandmother.

“The only thing I remember thinking after my mom passed away is that we didn’t want a fridge full of lasagna, though our family deeply appreciates those gestures of kindness,” said Crystal’s daughter Vanessa. “We wanted to do something that mattered. Something to help other families facing a similar, often devastating, diagnosis or situation.”

The Mammoliti family surfed the internet and decided to set up a GoFundMe page in Crystal’s memory. In lieu of flowers (or food), they invited friends, family, neighbours and colleagues to consider making a gift to their GoFundMe campaign to honour Crystal’s memory and support the Hospital that had only cared for her for a short time but made all the difference to a family when it mattered the most.

“We’d hoped to raise a few thousand dollars. But as our family shared the page on Facebook and over email, the donations continued to pour in. My father’s business associates from the construction industry and close friends were so very generous,” says Vanessa.

Over the course of the next six months or so, more than 100 gifts were made and $12,000 was raised in memorial donations. Vanessa reached out to Dr. Hambly to let him know that she’d like those funds to support his research and clinical care at the Firestone Clinic. Thanks to matching funds provided by another donor couple interested in lung disease, the tally was matched dollar-for-dollar, resulting in a $24,000 gift to support a fellowship focused on research into rare lung diseases.

“I’m humbled by the Mammoliti family’s kindness, gratitude and foresight,” says Dr. Hambly. “We can’t always heal, but we can always care. And we can never forget how important it is to help a patient’s family to understand, to cope and to grieve. Having met and cared for Crystal, I can promise that this gift and her memory will inspire me every day to continue my research into rare lung diseases, their causes and potential cures, so that one day, we may be able to save another family from experiencing this kind of sudden and tragic loss.”