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42 year old mom Bobbi Jo Forte has been rescuing animals for 20 years. Ten of those years were spent saving dogs from the kill list at shelters in the Southwest. Nine years ago she turned her attention to feral cats and kittens when she became a mom. She even converted her small garage into a shelter which could house special needs or injured cats/kittens until they were adopted.
Saving animals was part of daily life. Even her daughter loved to go with her when an urgent call came for an orphaned kitten or stray mom that was pregnant or had just given birth.
Day or night it didn't matter, she took the calls and gave each animal hope. She provided everything necessary for a comfortable life and found them all forever homes through adoption events. Bottle feeding, medicating, or just bringing kittens back from the brink of starvation was all part of daily life.
In September of 2014 everything changed. First, her daughter was stricken with weeks of high fever and severe headaches. Weeks later Bobbi Jo went to the hospital with a 104.5 fever. Stricken with encephalitis (brain swelling) she was forced to hault rescue efforts for the first time in 20 years. Exhaustion, balance problems, difficulty with speech, vision problems, hearing loss, and trouble sleeping followed. Stopping rescue was devastating - and necessary. Fearing the worst she went to a Neurologist who ordered an immediate MRI.
In June of 2015 Bobbi Jo was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. Treatment was necessary before the tumor grew any larger.
On August 10th she received radiation at NY Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. Her once active life has changed completely. Plagued with balance issues, exhaustion, headaches, and other physical problems she is asking for help for the first time in her life.
Bobbi Jo dreams of returning to animal rescue someday and knows in order to do that she must first take time to heal and hope that the brain tumor treatment works. Medical bills and debt are adding up. Please help reach our goal.
"Thank you for helping my mom and us."- Morgan Forte
9/18/2015- Sometimes I try and compare my situation to people who have it worse, specifically people who have cancer because I feel like that is the ultimate fear of most people. A friend recently said "you don't have to have cancer for your life to be completely altered and scary". It's so true. This is such a scary, confusing, upredictable diagnosis and treatment since everyone responds differently. I can't put into words how frustrating it is to be told HOW I will feel, only to NOT feel that way at all and then have totally sporadic and excruciating symptoms. My entire life has been completely altered by this. I am not able to get up and do the things I did. I was a runner for 26 years. I can't run in a straight line and my head feels terrible if I try. Walking around at night is a complete struggle. My eyes are shockingly sensitive to light and dark. The idiopathic pain in my abdomen and neck bring me to my knees and is triggered by sunlight, eating, and sometimes just leaning over. My heart goes out to anyone struggling with this rare diagnosis.
9/20/2015- I am completely moved by the response. This money has helped tremendously! Paying off these bills brings peace of mind. Thank you to everyone who has helped us.
9/22/2015- Mentally preparing myself for the coming weeks. MRI to test for "brain root lesions" and Overnight EEG to test for "Partial Complex Seizures" which might explain the excruciating abdominal pain. My Neuro Surgeon's nurse said she has never had a patient who had Viral Meningitis then Vestibular Schwanoma treatment. It complicates my situation and I can only hope that my symptoms do not worsen.
Saving animals was part of daily life. Even her daughter loved to go with her when an urgent call came for an orphaned kitten or stray mom that was pregnant or had just given birth.
Day or night it didn't matter, she took the calls and gave each animal hope. She provided everything necessary for a comfortable life and found them all forever homes through adoption events. Bottle feeding, medicating, or just bringing kittens back from the brink of starvation was all part of daily life.
In September of 2014 everything changed. First, her daughter was stricken with weeks of high fever and severe headaches. Weeks later Bobbi Jo went to the hospital with a 104.5 fever. Stricken with encephalitis (brain swelling) she was forced to hault rescue efforts for the first time in 20 years. Exhaustion, balance problems, difficulty with speech, vision problems, hearing loss, and trouble sleeping followed. Stopping rescue was devastating - and necessary. Fearing the worst she went to a Neurologist who ordered an immediate MRI.
In June of 2015 Bobbi Jo was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. Treatment was necessary before the tumor grew any larger.
On August 10th she received radiation at NY Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. Her once active life has changed completely. Plagued with balance issues, exhaustion, headaches, and other physical problems she is asking for help for the first time in her life.
Bobbi Jo dreams of returning to animal rescue someday and knows in order to do that she must first take time to heal and hope that the brain tumor treatment works. Medical bills and debt are adding up. Please help reach our goal.
"Thank you for helping my mom and us."- Morgan Forte
9/18/2015- Sometimes I try and compare my situation to people who have it worse, specifically people who have cancer because I feel like that is the ultimate fear of most people. A friend recently said "you don't have to have cancer for your life to be completely altered and scary". It's so true. This is such a scary, confusing, upredictable diagnosis and treatment since everyone responds differently. I can't put into words how frustrating it is to be told HOW I will feel, only to NOT feel that way at all and then have totally sporadic and excruciating symptoms. My entire life has been completely altered by this. I am not able to get up and do the things I did. I was a runner for 26 years. I can't run in a straight line and my head feels terrible if I try. Walking around at night is a complete struggle. My eyes are shockingly sensitive to light and dark. The idiopathic pain in my abdomen and neck bring me to my knees and is triggered by sunlight, eating, and sometimes just leaning over. My heart goes out to anyone struggling with this rare diagnosis.
9/20/2015- I am completely moved by the response. This money has helped tremendously! Paying off these bills brings peace of mind. Thank you to everyone who has helped us.
9/22/2015- Mentally preparing myself for the coming weeks. MRI to test for "brain root lesions" and Overnight EEG to test for "Partial Complex Seizures" which might explain the excruciating abdominal pain. My Neuro Surgeon's nurse said she has never had a patient who had Viral Meningitis then Vestibular Schwanoma treatment. It complicates my situation and I can only hope that my symptoms do not worsen.