Home Alone star 'burst into tears' after seeing fan support through GoFundMe page for cancer surgery
Ken Hudson Campbell "burst into tears" when he saw how fans had supported him through his GoFundMe page.
The 61-year-old star, who played Santa in the 'Home Alone' opposite Macaulay Culkin, had to undergo surgery last Thursday (07.12.23) to remove a cancerous tumour and his family had set up a page through the charitable donations website so fans could help with the bill for the surgery.
The page quickly surpassed its $100,000 goal with donations from the likes of 'The Office' star Steve Carell, comedian Jeff Garlin and 'Mean Girls' actor Tim Meadows but his daughter Michaela has now admitted that her father was "shocked" at just how much support he had received from fans around the world.
She told People: "The first day we posted it, every time he read something, he would just burst into tears. It was the first time he really got emotional about the whole situation. It was kind of a shock to him to feel so loved.
"It really means the world! My family's been struggling for a long time financially. So just having my dad's friends come together, this is just very overwhelming and it really takes a lot of stress off of my family's shoulders."
According to the GoFundMe Page, a tumour that had "elusively grown on the bottom of [Ken's] mouth and it began encroaching on his teeth" was discovered towards the end of October and just two days after the surgery took place on Thursday, Michaela shared an update with fans to let them know that the operation had been a success.
She wrote: "On Thursday December 7th, the day of the surgery. My Dad, Ken Hudson Campbell, went into the OR at 8am and was finished at 6pm.
"The cancer was removed successfully, and his jaw bone has been reconstructed from his fibula and attached. Despite the swelling and incisions, he looks great.
"My family and I went to visit him at 8:30pm. He was sedated, and would be until the next morning. The day after surgery, they took him off the respirator. He is in very good condition. He's giving us hand signals at times, writing his thoughts down and trying his hardest to communicate with us, even though he cannot speak. He's been making small improvements in different ways as each day goes by."