Midna's fight against cancer via chemotherapy
Donation protected
Hello, we're AJ and Sam and we're fundraising for our dog, Midna. During a routine vet visit, they discovered that all of her lymph nodes were swollen, and upon further testing, it was confirmed that she unfortunately has Stage 3 Lymphoma. The good news is that, upon doing blood work, they believe that she is an excellent candidate for chemotherapy.
If you know Sam and I, then you might already know that it's only been mere weeks since we lost our other dog, Koji, to dementia, and unfortunately, we're still paying his bills. The last year with Koji was extremely taxing on our finances, and before we've even had the time to properly grieve his passing, we learned that Midna is now fighting her own battle.
Midna has been with me (AJ) from my time in Florida. I rescued her after she was found sick and pregnant on the streets. They gave her a single day before they were going to euthanize her, so I stepped in and adopted her without having ever met her. She's been with me ever since and even rode shotgun with me across the entire continental United States on our move to Oregon back in 2017. She's been my buddy, my best friend, for years now, and I could never forgive myself for not trying to do absolutely everything in my power to help her, even if that means throwing myself onto my knees in front of the internet to ask for help.
To be absolutely as forthcoming as possible, we cannot handle the idea losing another member of our family so soon after losing Koji, and we want to do everything in our power to continue to give Midna a long and healthy life, so we intend to pursue the route of chemotherapy for her.
At a glance, Midna is just as happy and energetic as she has always been. Full of life and energy, ready to go on walks and play with her assortment of her honking hedgehog plushies, but this lymphoma is a very real threat, and we were informed that should we do nothing for her, she will probably succumb to it in 1 or 2 months, as most. Which again, we are not ready for. That leaves us with the chemotherapy route.
As stated above, Midna qualifies for what they refer to as "CHOP." Over the course of 4-6 months, she'd receive 16 treatments of various types of chemotherapy. We're told this results in complete remission in 90% of dogs and can give them another 1.5-2 years of healthy living. The treatments are costly though, and each visit can range anywhere from $500-$800 per visit, with the average cost of the full procedure costing around $11,000. That's precisely why we have made this Go Fund Me, because while we want to just throw everything we can at Midna and get her the best treatment available, after everything we just went through with Koji, we just absolutely do not have that kind of money laying around.
Regardless though, we have gone ahead and scheduled Midna for the treatments, as we're told she needs to start them within days, so her first chemo treatment will be on September 11. From there she will return each week afterwards for another treatment. We will update this Go Fund Me with her progress as she has her treatments as well.
We realize this is a lot of money, and that not everyone will be able to help. Quite frankly, I (AJ) am embarrassed even asking for this kind of monetary help, but when it comes to saving the life of Midna, I would do absolutely anything for her, even if it means reaching out and asking for help. If you're unable to donate, that's perfectly okay, but if at the bare minimum, you could share our story to help spread the word, we would be extremely grateful. Please, just help us save Midna. She deserves to continue living a happy, healthy life. Please help us give her that. Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
AJ McGucken
Organizer
Beaverton, OR
Sam Junchaya
Beneficiary