Cooper’s Final Fund

Cooper was diagnosed with stage 5 lymphoma on December 18th 2018.

After we received our diagnosis he immediately began the Canine Lymphoma  CHOP Chemotherapy protocol and we were quoted an average lifespan of 6-8 months from time of diagnosis. We were determined to be one of the lucky ones that long outlived that prognosis so I changed his diet to a raw diet, started only giving him alkaline water (because I read that cancer can’t survive in an alkaline state) and I also started him
on CBD oil. He was thriving.

Cooper responded great to his chemo treatments, all of his weekly blood test results were exactly where they were supposed to be and Cooper reached clinical remission after his first round of the CHOP protocol. He cruised through round 2 and as we were preparing for the first week of treatment for his third round of chemo, I woke up one morning with a pit in my stomach and knew something was wrong. He wasn’t acting himself and he refused his breakfast. I took him in for emergency blood work and ionized calcium test. After a few hours with our oncologist I received the soul crushing call that Cooper’s Calcium levels were elevated and the cancer was back. Cooper relapsed on Wednesday March 6th. 

It devastates me to type that. I was feeling so great about his progress and so was his oncologist. We were both blindsided by the news and I could see she was holding back tears as she was telling me our options. Unfortunately, a relapse means that the average life expectancy we were originally quoted is now cut in half. 

If I proceed with a different chemo protocol,
best case scenario we are looking at 2 more months together. If I forgo treatment I will only have 7-14 days with him. This absolutely crushes my spirit and devastates me to my core. Cooper is my whole world. I love him more than anything and have done everything in my power to give him the best quality of life possible. I have decided to start the new chemo protocol with the understanding that if he responds negatively to it, I will stop treatment. 

I know our story will be ending soon and I need to prepare myself for the hardest day of my life. 

Throughout this whole process people have asked me if they can help financially and
have asked me to create a GoFundMe account. I’ve been pretty against the idea from the beginning because thankfully we have pet insurance that covers 80% of his treatments...I’ve never wanted Cooper’s cancer to become a financial pity party for me so I’ve just kept moving along on my own. However, I know there are a lot of people following our story who want to contribute in some small way so I thought of an idea.

I created Cooper’s Final Fund to include all of my friends and family who want to contribute in some small way towards all of the things that come in the final days and weeks to follow. I created this fund for the hard parts of our final chapter and thought it would bring me great comfort to think about the people who wanted to be a part of his final journey home. 

Here is how I plan to spend any money donated:
1. When it is his time I would like to have him put to rest in the comfort of our home so he is surrounded by safe sights and smells and can be completely comfortable. 
2. Private cremation.
3. A beautiful urn for him to return home in.
4. A gift for the wonderful oncology team at MarQueen Animal Clinic in Roseville.

Should we exceed the above list, any remaining funds will go towards the running balance for his treatment which is currently sitting around $4,000.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions about the dollar amounts for the above list. As I mentioned before, this is not about money. I will do all of the things listed above regardless of friends contributing or not so please do not feel any pressure to donate. I just wanted those who have asked to help to have a way to contribute towards our final chapter. 

Thank you for all of your continued love and support over the last few months and for continually lifting me up as I navigate this lymphoma journey with my boy. ❤️

All my love, Ashley