My heart is heavy writing this. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love my two fur babies, Murphy and Cash. This week, Murph began showing some scary symptoms. It started with lethargy and quickly escalated to an unsteady gait, so I immediately brought her into the emergency vet where she peed red. The vet ran some initial tests, which did not produce the news we were hoping for. She was and is severely anemic. Fortunately, she responded well to fluids and they've been able to avoid needing to do a blood transfusion thus far, but we aren't out of the woods yet. They've been able to determine that she has Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia. Essentially, her body is fighting itself. Her body is destroying her red blood cells. We now know what's happening, but we don't know why. They are continuing a series of tests to determine if it's Primary or Secondary IMHA (best case scenario if it's secondary) and what the cause is. It could be a tick-borne illness (she is and has always been on a flea and tick preventative, but this is still possible) or possibly cancer.

I am not someone that likes to ask for help, but I'm in a bit of a financial predicament. I just quit my full-time job to go back to law school, so funds are extremely tight. This initial visit with the hospitalization and the tests will range from $4,000-$7,000, and this is not including treatments after we determine the cause and which type she has. I am reaching out for a helping hand so I can ensure that my sweet Murphy gets the care she needs. Any donation helps. Even if we don't reach our goal, any amount helps more than you could know. I know that things are tight these days, so if you can't donate, I will be forever grateful for a share.

Here's to hope that my sweet Murph pulls through and that we get some definitive (and promising) answers.