Hello! I’m Bailey and I could really use your help!

First of all, let me introduce myself! I’m an almost 4 year old lab-pit mix and my family tells me I’m the sweetest girl in the whole world. My best friend is my twin sister Kodiak, and I love spending time with my family. My favorite things to do are wrestle with my sister, cuddling with mom and dad, and getting my belly rubbed! I have never met a stranger, even though I’m still not sure about my brother Prometheus. Mom and Dad say we are siblings but to me he looks more like a cat. I’ve been told I’m really smart, and even have a favorite trick that my parents call “sit pretty”.

So, why do I need your help? Back in June my nose started bleeding and my parents and even my doctor thought it was just allergies. After a few weeks we noticed the medicine wasn’t helping so we tried a different doctor…

Dr. Mike at Whitney’s Veterinarian Hospital was very thorough and after some advanced testing (Rhinoscopy and biopsy of tumor) determined I have a serious cancer called Nasal Chondrosarcoma. Unfortunately, Dr. Mike didn’t have the resources to help me further but he was able to refer me and my family to the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital to better understand the severity of my cancer.

My first visit to the U of I two weeks later was far more eventful than my parents would have liked. The doctors found that I also had a heart murmur and I gave everyone a scare during my CT scan when my blood pressure dropped dramatically. The good news is the Oncologist was very optimistic about my cancer prognosis despite how scary it is. However I was told I couldn’t continue with any treatment until I met with the cardiology team to determine what caused my blood pressure to drop so much.

I had to wait another week just to meet the Cardiology Team. Imagine my parents surprise when after the team preformed their tests (Echocardiogram and chest X-rays) they found that I had a hole in my heart and that my heart was two times larger than it should have been! The doctors told my parents that it was a miracle that I have lived as long as I have with the hole in my heart. Lucky for me I was dealing with the best team possible at U of I because the very same day I was able to get a life saving/ critical surgery to patch the hole, in my heart.

Now I’m at home resting for the next week so I can be ready for my radiation treatments that start on Wednesday, September 14th. My oncology team told my parents that the best opportunity for me to live a full life would be to have an intensive three day radiation treatment. In a few months I’ll get to go back to my friends at the University of Illinois and after another CT scan they will be able to determine if I am cancer free!

So far my family has done everything they can to help cover the growing costs for my treatments. My grandparents have gone above and beyond by helping provide upfront costs for my heart surgery and transportation to and from the U of I. My mom has been super busy with her full time job as well as earning extra money delivering groceries with Instacart in her free time. She also has been busy learning as much as possible on my condition as well as looking into other funding solutions for my care. Outside of work my dad has been donating his plasma, helping my mom with Instacart, working on 3rd party home improvement projects and making sure I always make my vet visits. Without my family’s efforts, the doctors say I would have only had a few months left here with all of them. Now they believe I can live a long and healthy life. I love them all with all of my newly fixed heart and I need your help to make sure they can continue to provide me with the care I need.

As of now my treatments have cost my family over $5,000 and that’s before I start radiation next week. For radiation on Wednesday the 14th, September,I need a $7,000 deposit just to start radiation. The final costs for radiation are expected to exceed $9,000. I will still also need to have further checkups in the months ahead. My family has done so much for me and now I want to try and return the favor. My goal is to raise $15,000 to cover the costs of treatments and follow up care. I know the costs are high but any little bit helps! My family would be so grateful for any contribution on my journey to fighting Cancer. Thank you all for reading my story and sharing it with others.

With Love,

Bailey

P.S. My mom, Kaylie, and my dad, Krisjan, also want to say thank you for any and all support!