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Cyndi's Medical Bills

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Hi everyone, my cousin Jennine and I are starting a GoFundMe for her mom (my aunt), Cyndi Baigis. Cyndi was out walking their two dogs yesterday- a boxer and an Olde English bulldog- January 18, 2018, in Hainesport, New Jersey. Cyndi was playing with the dogs in an enclosed hockey rink in the park when one of the dogs, Winston (the English bulldog) suddenly started attacking her.

While Winston was a newer addition to the family within the last couple of months, he was loved dearly by both Cyndi and Jennine, and had never been anything but calm and friendly. At 84 lbs, you might call him a "gentle giant"; he had never shown any signs of aggression, and has spent time around younger children, as well as our 86 year old Nana, who all loved him and laughed at the constant string of drool hanging from his mouth and his adorable face rolls. Cyndi and Jennine have had dogs their whole lives, and in Winston's case, had even adopted him into their loving home.

Cyndi and the dogs were some of the only ones at the park, which meant that the attack went on for close to 20 minutes before a nearby man realized what was going on and was able to pull the dog's leash to hold him back for long enough for Cyndi to get away. By that time, she was missing skin and tissue fromher arm and breast; it took a further 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, and they determined that she needed to be airlifted to the nearest trauma center due to the amount of blood she had lost and the amount of time it would take to reach Cooper by ambulance. The paramedics told our family later that Cyndi would have died if the man who helped her escape had not arrived when he did. When animal control arrived on the scene, Winston was sitting still wagging his tail, as if nothing had happened. Cyndi is shocked by the attack, as are all of us, but doesn't hold any ill will.

Unfortunately, this isn't the only medical expense Cyndi has incurred in recent years- she had renal cancer surgery in April 2017, a total hip replacement in May 2016, and another surgery in the summer of 2015. As a nurse at UPenn and Federal Occupational Health, she does have job protection, but sadly, will not be able to collect disability because she has not worked enough days since the renal cancer surgery last year to bank the time. The cost of the helicopter transport to the hospital, alone, could be in the tens of thousands, only about half of which will be covered by insurance. That's on top of the surgery she had to repair the tissue in both arms and her chest, plus the additional time away from work (if you're not in the medical field, nurses get paid for the time that they work, so each day makes the financial burden grow for Cyndi). Her daughter (my cousin) Jennine, fractured her foot recently, and Cyndi has been caring for her. Now, Cyndi will be unable to drive or work (luckily, Jennine is able to do her job remotely). We're looking to raise as much as we can to help cover Cyndi's medical bills- which will be many thousands of dollars for this horrific accident- as well as life expenses due to her being unable to work for the next few weeks (we're not sure exactly how long the recovery process will take at this point in time). Anything you can offer will help, even if it's just enough to cover transportation to doctor's visits or a meal delivery.
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Donations 

  • Carrie Dyson
    • $100 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Logan McKinstrie
Organizer
Hainesport, NJ
Cynthia Baigis
Beneficiary

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