SoCal man helps raise $20K for Lyft driver with cancer

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A local man helped raise more than $20,000 for a Lyft driver he just met - a single mother battling cervical cancer while raising a son with autism.

It was Lupe Montes' darkest hour when she found out last year she had cervical cancer.

"I just said Lord, I literally give it all to you," Montes said.

With chemotherapy treatments leaving her depleted, she knew she could not continue as a driver for Lyft.

"I've dealt with so much throughout my life, but that really butchered me," she said.

One of her last customers on the job was Matthew Stevens, who turned out to be an answer to a prayer.

"He was one of the few that I shared my story with," she said.

Stevens says he thought a breakup with a boyfriend was one of his darkest hours until he heard Montes' story.

"Raising her son on her own and just being diagnosed with cancer - that made me kind of, it was a reality check for me," Stevens said.

Stevens said his heart was so moved by Montes' zest for life despite her hardship that he decided to start a GoFundMe page for her. It has exceeded his expectations.

"It was like when you see in a movie that somebody hears from God, I just heard - I am not going to be able to receive love until I am able to give love," Stevens said.

Hoping to raise $10,000 since starting the fundraiser several weeks ago, it has more than doubled. Montes was touched.

"He's my guardian angel. I mean I didn't ask for help, and that came directly from God," Montes said as she cried. "I am happy, they're joyful tears."

Despite what she is going through, Montes has the heart to want to reach out and help someone else.

She wants to check if she is a match to be a donor to help Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Jorge Chavez, who has acute myeloid leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible.

Montes believes she is blessed, so she needs to bless someone else.