"They were all told not to hug me because my immune system is compromised from having started treatment but I was hugging everyone," Amanda Kofoed said.
Instead of a song or dance performance, a different kind of flash mob surprised an Idaho couple at a local coffee shop, where 200 strangers lined up to each give them a $100 bill for the wife's cancer treatments.
"We were crying, overwhelmed," said Amanda Kofoed, the 30-year-old mother of four who was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma in October. "They were all told not to hug me because my immune system is compromised from having started treatment, but I couldn't stop myself. I was hugging everyone."
Amanda and her husband, Clint Kofoed, were originally invited to Flying M Coffee Garage in Nampa to be interviewed for a video about her medical situation posted to the family's GoFundMe campaign, shot by their close friend Robert Frazier.
They then noticed their close friends, Jesse Fadel and his family, interrupt the interview, and drop $100 on the table.
"I thought he was just crashing the party," Amanda told InsideEdition.com. "I was kind of nervous because we were talking, and I could see they're walking up [not knowing] they were interrupting."
But the Fadels kept walking, and immediately behind them were another group who dropped another $100 on the table. Then another group. Then another.
"The line just didn't stop," Amanda said. "It was our close friends, our family members. It was people we didn't know, people we haven't seen in 10 years. People from all parts of our lives."
The elaborate act of kindness was coordinated by The PRAYnksters, a group of troublemakers who pull off elaborate displays that end in a good deed for someone in need. Fadel is a member of the group.
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In total, Amanda said about 200 people came by her table, and by the end of the elaborate display, the Kofoeds collected $13,000 to go toward medical bills.
"When we saw all those people, it was this relief. We're not in this bubble trying to do this by ourselves," she said. "We have this community supporting us, and loving us."
Amanda, a stay-at-home mom working toward a degree in elementary education, had to drop out of school when the results came back for a lump in her arm.
With the grim diagnosis came instructions to start treatment right away, despite the fact that Amanda would not be on her husband's insurance until three months later.
"The burden just kept growing," she said. "It was getting bigger and bigger and more impossible to manage."
Since the attention drawn to the family's troubles through the flash mob event and a GoFundMe campaign, Amanda said they are overwhelmed with the amount of support their community has offered.
"Friends have come over and cleaned our house," she said. "I can call, and they'll come and pick my kids up and take them for an afternoon if I need a nap. If I can't go to the grocery store, they'll call me and ask if I need milk. They're not just showing up for us financially, they're really coming around us and taking care of us."
With the extra help, Amanda said she has now had more time to take care of herself through treatment.
