Help Eva Fight Lymphoma!
Donation protected
Update 10/17/16
Eva’s test results came back early, and the oncologist wanted to let me know immediately that Eva is out of remission, which means that I have some decisions to make. Fortunately, I had already made up my mind beforehand about what to do. I’m going to continue to do everything that I can for Eva. Thank the universe I got this full time job… I should be able to afford *most* of it. I’m going to keep her gofundme open, because any donation is still hugely appreciated.
Starting tomorrow, Eva is going to continue chemo. The plan right now is that she will get 3 rounds of the drug that put her into remission months ago, doxorubicin, each dose spaced 3 weeks apart. After that, she will have reached her lifetime allowed dosage. Then we will play it by ear, so to speak. After that I will probably opt for what is called CCNU, an oral chemo given at home. If that begins to stop working, Eva will go on prednisone, that will simply make her as comfortable as possible until we see that her quality of life is no longer one she can live happily with. Because if at any point she is miserable, this is all for nothing. I just want Eva to be happy and feel good for as long as this stupid cancer will let her.
Please keep Eva in your thoughts/prayers/etc. Because I follow all the stories of other dogs going through lymphoma, and amazing things CAN happen. There was a story of one dog who came out of chemo after a few weeks, had doxorubicin, then stayed in remission for a whole year just from that extra dose, even though he fell out of remission early at first. So I’m staying positive and not allowing myself to fall into depression just yet.
Update 8/18/2016
Eva is finally done with chemotherapy...I still can't believe how lucky she is that so many people love her and want her to keep fighting!! People are still even donating to help fund her T-cell Infusions, which can extend her remission length!! It's amazing.
I spent the last few hours doing lots of math (I'm an art teacher so it's really not my forte), and here is the image of the excell spread sheet that I used to figure out Eva's total chemo cost, how much she's raised after the 7.9% gofundme/wepay fee, and how much more needs to be raised to afford her t-cell infusions. This should explain pretty clearly why I've raised the goal from $16k to $16.5k. But if you have any questions, seriously, don't hesitate to ask me personally, via tumblr or facebook or whatever!
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Update 7/27/16
Eva met her 2nd fundraising goal of $12,500!!
YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING WOW. I have raised Eva's goal to $16K. This is for two reasons: 1) technically Eva hasn't reached $12.5k yet due to the 7.8% fee Gofundme takes, and 2) once we confirm that she is in molecular remission, I hope to start her T-Cell Infusion Immunotherapy treatments with the amazing Dr. Sullivan at the Bellingham Veterinary Clinic in Washington. In order for her to get these treatments, for which most of the dogs administered it it's increased their remission lengths drastically, I have to make a donation to the T-Cell Project of at LEAST $3k, which literally only covers the cost of supplies- Dr. Sullivan is making no profit from these treatments. So after all of Eva's chemo treatments are paid for, the remaining money I raise will go to the T-Cell Infusion Project so that Eva can have this amazing treatment done. I'm hoping to raise a lot of money this September when I participate in a local arts festival to sell my prints and originals (I'll be adding those earnings to the gofundme as an offline donation, so everyone will know how much I make from it), but until then, I want to keep raising as much as I can for Eva. Thank you SO MUCH to anyone who continues to donate to Eva's fund, and I sent so much love to those of you who have already donated or have shared her post. You guys are wonderful and Eva couldn't have made it this far without you!!
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Update 5/22/16
Eva met her initial fundraising goal of $8500!!
I didn't think it was even possible. Internet proved me wrong. I'm raising the goal to $12,500, which is on the high end of the estimate the AVIM of Towson gave me, posted below. Now that I know it's actually something within the realm of possibility, let's go for it!!
• Any money donated past the fundraising goal will be donated to the Humane Society to help other pets in need, after Eva's T-cell infusion treatments are complete.
• The AVIM of Towson is unable to give me an *exact* estimate for Eva's entire treatment. $8500-12500 is the baseline they give for most dogs. So I'll be posting the individual invoices for each treatment in the updates section, as I pay them.
• Here is the link to my art gallery on Facebook with my works available for high-quality printing. All proceeds go to Eva's campaign!
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Before I give you the story leading up to the creation of this gofundme, there is someone very important that you should meet. Her name is Eva, and she was born on a farm in PA on June 21, 2008. Ever since I got her as a puppy, she's been the funniest, happiest dog I've known.
Funny enough to go viral on Reddit and Imgur for pulling down a post in front of our house with her bare strength. (You can reverse image search the image below to find the full picture that went viral).
Happy enough to pull me through some of my worst bouts of clinical depression and anxiety.
She's always been there for me when I needed her, and now I'm going to be there for her. And hopefully, with your help, she can get the most out of her precious life.
But giving her this second chance costs money that I could only dream of having. $8,500-$12,500 is a lot to most people, and even more so to someone working in the public school system while paying off four student loans.
Please, help me help Eva. I don't want my financial situation to be what prevents her from getting an extra year or more out of her happy life.
------------------------------------------------------
Below, I will give a full account of Eva's symptoms and diagnosis of Lymphoma. Included are the names and locations of her vets and oncologists. If you must, go ahead and call them to confirm the legitimacy of this information.
-----------------------------------------------------
On May 7th, I decided to take my 7-year-old yellow lab, Eva, to the vet for a check up. I thought that she might have just a simple infection. She was having trouble breathing at night, the lymph nodes in her neck were swollen, and it sounded like her throat was congested. I wasn't worried about a thing. She was still acting like her perky, ridiculous self.
I was completely numb with shock when Eva's primary vet immediately suggested Lymphoma, and brought out a $500 invoice for a barrage of tests that should be done immediately. I thought I was going to pass out. Knowing that I didn't have that kind of money, I ordered only the most definitive test: the cytology.
Surely all Eva had was an infection. She's only 7 years old. She was still acting silly and cheerful.
The cytology came back two days later indicating Lymphoma.
Still in disbelief, and at this point just desperate for a better explanation of what was going on which I wasn't getting from Eva's primary vet, I went to the amazing Dr. Brooks at the Bel Air Veterinary Hospital for a second opinion. He was so good with Eva, immediately treating her as if she was one of his own pets. After a thorough physical exam and analyzing the cytology results himself, he helped me to finally come to terms with the diagnosis. Generalized Lymphoma in all outer lymph nodes, and from what he could feel during the physical examination, also in the spleen. He immediately recommended us to Dr. Anthony Calo at the Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine and Oncology clinic in Towson.
We couldn't get in to see Dr. Calo due to his busy schedule, but on Wednesday the 11th, we were able to see Dr. Nivia Martinez. I bit the bullet and did the $1500 worth of necessary testing to find out what, if anything, could be done for Eva. She's my precious puppy. If I had any contacts on the black market, I would cheerfully offer up a kidney or one of my limbs to pay for any treatment Eva needed, but sadly I am just a humble Towson graduate with a degree in Art Education, and all my friends are either artists or nerds. I never thought I'd see the day where I wished I had some criminal connections, but here I am.
Finally, all of Eva's tests came back. The news was as good as bad news could possibly be. Fortunately, the lymphoma is currently limited to Eva's lymph nodes and spleen. All her bloodwork, cbc, x-rays, and ultrasounds came back otherwise normal. In summary: Eva is a perfectly healthy 7-year-old dog, aside from the lymphoma in her lymph nodes and spleen. Dr. Martinez explained that Eva was a very good candidate for chemotherapy, and that if we proceed with the aggressive treatment plan, the average remission time could be years.
Together with my mother and father, we decided unanimously that we wanted to fight like hell to raise money in order to give Eva that extra year or more of life she deserves. I don't want her 8th birthday in June to be her last. I want her to see her 9th birthday, and 10th, and 11th. But Eva will never have that chance if this fundraising fails. My mother, father, and I are currently doing inventory of things we can sell around the house to afford her treatment. But even then, it won't be enough. No matter what we do, it will never be enough. Eva needs your help, too.
Eva’s test results came back early, and the oncologist wanted to let me know immediately that Eva is out of remission, which means that I have some decisions to make. Fortunately, I had already made up my mind beforehand about what to do. I’m going to continue to do everything that I can for Eva. Thank the universe I got this full time job… I should be able to afford *most* of it. I’m going to keep her gofundme open, because any donation is still hugely appreciated.
Starting tomorrow, Eva is going to continue chemo. The plan right now is that she will get 3 rounds of the drug that put her into remission months ago, doxorubicin, each dose spaced 3 weeks apart. After that, she will have reached her lifetime allowed dosage. Then we will play it by ear, so to speak. After that I will probably opt for what is called CCNU, an oral chemo given at home. If that begins to stop working, Eva will go on prednisone, that will simply make her as comfortable as possible until we see that her quality of life is no longer one she can live happily with. Because if at any point she is miserable, this is all for nothing. I just want Eva to be happy and feel good for as long as this stupid cancer will let her.
Please keep Eva in your thoughts/prayers/etc. Because I follow all the stories of other dogs going through lymphoma, and amazing things CAN happen. There was a story of one dog who came out of chemo after a few weeks, had doxorubicin, then stayed in remission for a whole year just from that extra dose, even though he fell out of remission early at first. So I’m staying positive and not allowing myself to fall into depression just yet.
Update 8/18/2016
Eva is finally done with chemotherapy...I still can't believe how lucky she is that so many people love her and want her to keep fighting!! People are still even donating to help fund her T-cell Infusions, which can extend her remission length!! It's amazing.
I spent the last few hours doing lots of math (I'm an art teacher so it's really not my forte), and here is the image of the excell spread sheet that I used to figure out Eva's total chemo cost, how much she's raised after the 7.9% gofundme/wepay fee, and how much more needs to be raised to afford her t-cell infusions. This should explain pretty clearly why I've raised the goal from $16k to $16.5k. But if you have any questions, seriously, don't hesitate to ask me personally, via tumblr or facebook or whatever!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Update 7/27/16
Eva met her 2nd fundraising goal of $12,500!!
YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING WOW. I have raised Eva's goal to $16K. This is for two reasons: 1) technically Eva hasn't reached $12.5k yet due to the 7.8% fee Gofundme takes, and 2) once we confirm that she is in molecular remission, I hope to start her T-Cell Infusion Immunotherapy treatments with the amazing Dr. Sullivan at the Bellingham Veterinary Clinic in Washington. In order for her to get these treatments, for which most of the dogs administered it it's increased their remission lengths drastically, I have to make a donation to the T-Cell Project of at LEAST $3k, which literally only covers the cost of supplies- Dr. Sullivan is making no profit from these treatments. So after all of Eva's chemo treatments are paid for, the remaining money I raise will go to the T-Cell Infusion Project so that Eva can have this amazing treatment done. I'm hoping to raise a lot of money this September when I participate in a local arts festival to sell my prints and originals (I'll be adding those earnings to the gofundme as an offline donation, so everyone will know how much I make from it), but until then, I want to keep raising as much as I can for Eva. Thank you SO MUCH to anyone who continues to donate to Eva's fund, and I sent so much love to those of you who have already donated or have shared her post. You guys are wonderful and Eva couldn't have made it this far without you!!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 5/22/16
Eva met her initial fundraising goal of $8500!!
I didn't think it was even possible. Internet proved me wrong. I'm raising the goal to $12,500, which is on the high end of the estimate the AVIM of Towson gave me, posted below. Now that I know it's actually something within the realm of possibility, let's go for it!!
• Any money donated past the fundraising goal will be donated to the Humane Society to help other pets in need, after Eva's T-cell infusion treatments are complete.
• The AVIM of Towson is unable to give me an *exact* estimate for Eva's entire treatment. $8500-12500 is the baseline they give for most dogs. So I'll be posting the individual invoices for each treatment in the updates section, as I pay them.
• Here is the link to my art gallery on Facebook with my works available for high-quality printing. All proceeds go to Eva's campaign!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Before I give you the story leading up to the creation of this gofundme, there is someone very important that you should meet. Her name is Eva, and she was born on a farm in PA on June 21, 2008. Ever since I got her as a puppy, she's been the funniest, happiest dog I've known.
Funny enough to go viral on Reddit and Imgur for pulling down a post in front of our house with her bare strength. (You can reverse image search the image below to find the full picture that went viral).
Happy enough to pull me through some of my worst bouts of clinical depression and anxiety.
She's always been there for me when I needed her, and now I'm going to be there for her. And hopefully, with your help, she can get the most out of her precious life.
But giving her this second chance costs money that I could only dream of having. $8,500-$12,500 is a lot to most people, and even more so to someone working in the public school system while paying off four student loans.
Please, help me help Eva. I don't want my financial situation to be what prevents her from getting an extra year or more out of her happy life.
------------------------------------------------------
Below, I will give a full account of Eva's symptoms and diagnosis of Lymphoma. Included are the names and locations of her vets and oncologists. If you must, go ahead and call them to confirm the legitimacy of this information.
-----------------------------------------------------
On May 7th, I decided to take my 7-year-old yellow lab, Eva, to the vet for a check up. I thought that she might have just a simple infection. She was having trouble breathing at night, the lymph nodes in her neck were swollen, and it sounded like her throat was congested. I wasn't worried about a thing. She was still acting like her perky, ridiculous self.
I was completely numb with shock when Eva's primary vet immediately suggested Lymphoma, and brought out a $500 invoice for a barrage of tests that should be done immediately. I thought I was going to pass out. Knowing that I didn't have that kind of money, I ordered only the most definitive test: the cytology.
Surely all Eva had was an infection. She's only 7 years old. She was still acting silly and cheerful.
The cytology came back two days later indicating Lymphoma.
Still in disbelief, and at this point just desperate for a better explanation of what was going on which I wasn't getting from Eva's primary vet, I went to the amazing Dr. Brooks at the Bel Air Veterinary Hospital for a second opinion. He was so good with Eva, immediately treating her as if she was one of his own pets. After a thorough physical exam and analyzing the cytology results himself, he helped me to finally come to terms with the diagnosis. Generalized Lymphoma in all outer lymph nodes, and from what he could feel during the physical examination, also in the spleen. He immediately recommended us to Dr. Anthony Calo at the Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine and Oncology clinic in Towson.
We couldn't get in to see Dr. Calo due to his busy schedule, but on Wednesday the 11th, we were able to see Dr. Nivia Martinez. I bit the bullet and did the $1500 worth of necessary testing to find out what, if anything, could be done for Eva. She's my precious puppy. If I had any contacts on the black market, I would cheerfully offer up a kidney or one of my limbs to pay for any treatment Eva needed, but sadly I am just a humble Towson graduate with a degree in Art Education, and all my friends are either artists or nerds. I never thought I'd see the day where I wished I had some criminal connections, but here I am.
Finally, all of Eva's tests came back. The news was as good as bad news could possibly be. Fortunately, the lymphoma is currently limited to Eva's lymph nodes and spleen. All her bloodwork, cbc, x-rays, and ultrasounds came back otherwise normal. In summary: Eva is a perfectly healthy 7-year-old dog, aside from the lymphoma in her lymph nodes and spleen. Dr. Martinez explained that Eva was a very good candidate for chemotherapy, and that if we proceed with the aggressive treatment plan, the average remission time could be years.
Together with my mother and father, we decided unanimously that we wanted to fight like hell to raise money in order to give Eva that extra year or more of life she deserves. I don't want her 8th birthday in June to be her last. I want her to see her 9th birthday, and 10th, and 11th. But Eva will never have that chance if this fundraising fails. My mother, father, and I are currently doing inventory of things we can sell around the house to afford her treatment. But even then, it won't be enough. No matter what we do, it will never be enough. Eva needs your help, too.
Organizer
Day Lee
Organizer
Abingdon, MD