An Ottawa woman diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder is headed to Chicago this weekend after receiving an anonymous donation to pay for what she hopes is a life-saving procedure.

In 2002, Stephanie Headley was diagnosed with systematic scleroderma, a terminal disorder that causes the skin and inner organs to harden, and eventually fail.​

Her story first made headlines in the summer when an anonymous donor showed up at her door to drop off a $128,000 money order.

Headley calls the gift a lifeline.

"Completely floored me. Changed the whole game. Really gave me hope. And really fortified my thought all along that this was God's plan for me. Because this was truly a miracle," she said.

Headley had found a doctor in Chicago to treat her disease with stem cell therapy but the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) doesn't cover the $125,000 U.S. price tag.

She and her family started an online fundraising campaign that moved slowly — until the anonymous donation. They can still only speculate who it was.

"He's probably relating to me being from Kanata, so I assume he lives and works in Kanata," she said. "He isn't anybody famous, or that he won the lottery, or anything like that, no. I think he was an incredible soul who read my story."

She is now heading to Chicago for two weeks of pre-treatment testing before the major procedure in January.

"There's no guarantees but you do have to pass this testing," she said. "It's part of the hoop of fire I must go through to save my life."

And Headly is confident the tests will confirm she can go ahead with the treatment.

"Really looking forward to spending a great Christmas with my kids before I go away for three whole months. And yeah, very scary procedure. Very hopeful one, though, and I will absolutely be back," she said.

If the treatment is successful, she plans to advocate to make the treatment more available in Canada after her recovery.