Update: Nine Inch Nails Heart Transplant Fan Dies at 27
7/6/2009 By Josiah Hughes

As we told you last week, long-time Nine Inch Nails fan Eric De La Cruz was the recipient of much charity from NIN front-man Trent Reznor. When De La Cruz was recently in need of a heart transplant, Reznor put out a call to the Twitterverse, arranging meet-and-greets with fans during his tour with Jane’s Addiction to help raise money for the fan in need.

Well, Reznor raised over $850,000 U.S., and even got a tip of the hat from a number of New York politicians. Unfortunately, De La Cruz tragically passed away on Saturday (July 4) at the young age of 27. While the money was enough for a transplant, and De La Cruz was approved for Medicare, his condition deteriorated too rapidly.

In a message addressed to “Eric’s Twitter army,” De La Cruz’s sister Veronica wrote a touching eulogy.

"It is with the heaviest heart that I write this, my beautiful and beloved little brother Eric De La Cruz has passed away,” she said. “He died yesterday, July 4, 2009, sometime between 2:20 p.m. and 2:35 p.m. Both my mother and I have been so overcome with grief and sadness, we couldn't bear to put the message out, so until now we shared it with only Eric's closest friends and relatives."

To read the full message, click here.

Thanks to Spinner for the heads-up
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