Help Reiki Beat Cancer!

*I am a student at UNC who loves this girl a lot to say the least! I am currently working 3 jobs to support Reiki, and was just faced with the disheartening news that I can no longer pick up extra night shifts at my main "breadwinner" job as a permanent night shift staff was hired, and they no longer need the extra help, leaving me back to my regular shift schedule. While I'll be getting a little more sleep because of this, this had been a godsend for my sister and I as it was quite a bit of extra money that we needed. Reiki has responded well after some hurdles, and only has ONE tumor left to beat! Please consider helping this little lion continue her fight, we really don't want to have to stop chemo now, and I'm truly doing everything I can to bring in extra money. Thank you <3

*Al l donations will go directly do paying Reiki's bills at NCSU Vet Hospital, and I am more than willing to provide bill receipts and invoices as well as stay in touch and provide updates!

Long Story Short:  

Before Reiki was diagnosed, we (my younger sister and I) took her to two different vets who couldn't determine what was wrong with her. She could no longer stand up on her own, had stopped eating, and was in an extreme amount of pain.  Both vets recommended that we put her down within the week. Pain meds could help her feel less pain, they said, but the doses needed would eventually put her in a vegetable state. Sarah and I were horrified and heartbroken to say the least. We had just gotten back from visiting our grandparents in India over Christmas Break, were gone less than a week, and Reiki had been fine before we left. We did as much research as we could and decided to take her to the NC State Vet Hospital.

Reiki was diagnosed with multicentric large-cell lymphoma and by the time it was discovered, it had spread to her liver, bladder, GI system, mammary chain and blood, there were multiple tumors. We were advised that we could pursue treatment, but at this stage, usually it was too late, and too much to treat. Her cancer was inoperable, because the tumors were on her vital organs and couldn't be surgically removed. We were advised that chemo was expensive, and that while it was possible it could work, but that it wasn't very likely. We spent the next while caring for our girl, giving her lots of love and weighing the options. Something felt wrong about putting her down. It is so hard to put into words, but the look in Reiki's eyes over that period reflected so much love and gratitude, and seemed to pose the question: "What do we do next, guys?" We went ahead with chemo. Both my younger sister and I emptied our savings. 2 weeks into chemo, Reiki seemed to be doing better. She was eating a bit more. 3 weeks, she was more active and certainly a happy girl again. 4 weeks in Reiki unexpectedly had a reaction to the fourth drug in the sequence - the vets have since removed it from her protocol entirely since we we couldn't pinpoint why it happened - and  Reiki went into septic shock. Around 2 am  that night I found her laying on her side I went to giver her a shoulder rub and she was cold. Sure enough as I approached her from the front, her eyes were dilated and she was very barely breathing. I remember not being able to think and simultaneously feeling a million thoughts run through my mind. I panickedly woke up my roommate and she helped me get Reiki to the car. Only when we picked her up and wrapped her in a blanket did we notice she had completely soiled herself. At NCSU she had a blood transfusion and was hospitalized for a couple days. We were warned that this could be it, this could be all our strong little lion could take. There was a silver lining, although it seemed to be as far away as ever: the doctors told us that if Reiki made it through this, a scan had showed that amidst the disaster, the tumor tissue looked smaller than before. If she could make it through this, it could mean hope for the future.

Now, 2 months into treatment all of Reiki's tumor's but one are no longer visible on a scan. Reiki RUNS and JUMPS and cuddles again. She plays fetch again. She is back to being herself. My sister and I love this girl so much and there's not much we wouldn't do for her. She has done so much for our family, and now we are trying to pay her back. We have squared away the large majority of Reiki's treatment costs, and just discovered Carecredit, which allows us to pay her bills over a longer period of time, making monthly payments more manageable. I currently work three jobs: I work at a group home for people with developmental disabilities, I'm a receptionist at UNC, and I also work in a psych research lab with children and families. I have been picking up as many extra shifts as I can (particularly night shifts at the group home which are not the most conducive to being able to stay awake the next day), and I am also a full time student studying Biology and Psychology at UNC. So far I've cut out all the "extra" expenses I can, and have done all right in meeting the bills until just about a month ago when the opportunity to pick up extra shifts dwindled as a new full time employee was hired, leaving no extra shifts to pick up. Reiki is so close to remission, and although we've made it this far, we could really use some help reaching the finish line. Anything and everything from small donations to prayers and good vibes are much appreciated. We love Reiki so much, and she has made a huge difference in our lives. Our little lion is a fighter, and we are so thankful that she has come this far, against all odds. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share this page if you can! 

*All donations will directly go toward paying Reiki's medical bills at the NC State Vet Hospital, and I am more than willing to share her bill receipts and stay in contact with donors about Reiki's progress!*

Long Story (for those who want to know more!)

This loving girl has been a part of our family for 6 years. A simple paragraph outlining how important she has been as a family member is simply impossible to write. Reiki does not fit the general stereotype that most people use to classify a "cat". She plays fetch, is HIGHLY emotionally connected to both my sister and I, and she has softened the heart of our parents: two people who immigrated from India years ago, who previously viewed pets as an unnecessary cost, and an unsanitary choice. We found Reiki by a Walmart parking lot in horrible condition. Very close to death, she was malnourished, grimy, quite honestly unpleasant to the eye, but surprisingly sassy and bold given her condition. SHE came up to US, as if to say "EXCUSE ME, can you help?" After taking her to the vet, we discovered she was only a few DAYS old, and hadn't even been weaned off milk yet. My younger sister and I hid Reiki in our home for a few weeks, (we weren't allowed to have pets at the time), until her condition improved drastically. She transformed from a groggy, yet sweet disoriented tiny body to a rambunctious and playful little girl. She meowed a LOT, and finally Sarah and I decided to tell our Mom, who was furious at us and told us we had 2 weeks to give her away. Now that our mom knew about her, it was okay for Reiki to be openly around the house. My mom was quite honestly grossed out and scared to get scratched, and kept her distance. Reiki, however, did not. Reiki LOVED my mom, and after days of being followed around by this bright young thing, the "2 weeks to give her away" became a month, two months, and soon my Mom asked if we thought we should get another cat so Reiki wouldn't be lonely while my sister and I were at school.  Since then, so much has happened. My sister and I went through a period of not being able to live with our parents, and Reiki helped us both through that. When I went off to college, Reiki guarded home base and brought so much light into my sister's life. People often comment how deeply attached we both seem to Reiki, and it's true, but not without reason. For years, Reiki has joined us in the bathroom for our morning routines, only leaving once we've completed the last step.  She has NEVER allowed us to cry alone, she takes a seat right next to you and provides as many "headbutts" as necessary to stop the tears. She returns our "I love you" blinks (worth a Google if you're not sure what these are), and gives us her own. Day after day our "Swishy-tail Reik" has been just a few inches from the door patiently waiting to greet  us after a long day - sometimes we've had the privelege of catching her mid-gallop, as she stops herself from gliding right into our legs by spreading her paws out like a not-so-agile rollerskater. Did I mention she plays fetch? 

 This December, my family went to India to visit our grandparents, and I found Reiki a petsitter while we were away. When we returned from our trip, we couldn't find Reiki anywhere. We called her name, and sure enough she meowed back each time, but she still wouldn't come. We kept up with this Marco Polo of sorts until we finally found her underneath the couch laying in an odd position on her side. She greeted us with many purrs, but she still wasn't moving. I reached out to pick her up and she yelped in pain. I couldn't see anything wrong from the outside, and tried more to get her to stand, she just fell over and was clearly in a lot of pain. We took her to the emergency vet that night: they couldn't determine what was wrong and sent us home with pain meds. A few days later, Reiki was moving even less. She wasn't eating. We took her to another vet: they recommended that we put her down in the next 2-3 days and spend as much time making her happy as we could. Give her her favorite foods, say our goodbyes and bring her back for euthanasia, it was inhumane for an animal to suffer this way. My sister and I were absolutely horrified. She was fine before we left and it had only been a week, no one was giving us answers, and we couldn't accept not knowing what was going on with her, or how to fix it. We monitored her pain and kept her as comfortable as we could. They next couple of days were horrible, neither of us got much sleep or ate much. We did our research and decided to take her to NC State's vet hospital. To avoid too much repetition, you can refer to the "Long Story Short" at the top regarding her diagnosis! Reiki has been doing well with chemo and receives that in addition to some additional supplements, an antibiotic, and a steroid medication twice a day. (Sounds like a lot, but this is drastically reduced from the laundry list she was on before.) The more she improves, the fewer medications she has had to take, and we hope to remove a few more of these in the near future. Thank you so much for reading.  

Have you seen the bumper stickers that say "Who saved who?" on people's cars in passing? When I look back to the day Reiki we found Reiki and took her in, to today, and all of the memories we've shared over the past six years, all the things my sister and I have gone through in that time: our parents' divorce, the loss of a loved one, us living separate from our parents, me moving to college, and I compare this to  how much love Reiki has given us, and how much light she brought into our lives during those times ... the question rings true. Who saved who?