It is said that one unexpected major medical expense can derail a family's entire finances; the impact of two is even harder to fathom. This reality has led my family to seek assistance through GoFundMe. My name is Jacob, from Phoenix, AZ where I live with my wife Katie & our three beloved cats Calypso, whom everyone affectionately calls "Sweetie" (17), Dolly (12), & our newest addition last year, Zeke (1.5)! Although we may not be the conventional family, children aren't in our future & our cats are our joy.

Sweetie was found when she was less than two weeks old, I bottle-fed her & she's been with me ever since... For much of that time, it was just two of us.

The sudden loss of my father in 2008 to an unknown/undiagnosed aortic aneurysm (the exact same tragedy that befell actor John Ritter) was a very heavy blow as an only child, even more so as I’ve inherited the same fatal condition & was diagnosed in 2016. Thankfully catching & treating it early is the best course of action. Unfortunately, dealing with the financial challenges posed by healthcare in the United States has been & will remain a long-standing issue for us, primarily managed through credit cards and support from our incredible family.

In May of 2024, we received a terrible diagnosis for Sweetie, bladder cancer. The tumor is inoperable but there are very viable treatment options, however at a very high cost. I could not just give up on her, she's my baby girl, I bottle-fed her in the palm of my hand. I'm not going to let her die without putting up a fight, she doesn't deserve to go out like that. She's been with me since I was 24 (I turned 42 this year), through my father's sudden death & the LONG grieving process I went through, she's moved with me to multiple locations until I found our home we've lived in for the past ten years... The affection between Sweetie & I was one of the main attractions for my wife when we first met in 2015. Katie & I decided we were going to fight for our Sweetie.

So, I took out a 0% for 24 months credit card and am paying for radiation treatment & chemotherapy... I had to. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself otherwise, especially working from home, we spend most of every day together. The thought of her not being here is hard enough, but if we didn't try to save her & had to watch her deteriorate, knowing there was something we could have done, would have been too much to bear.

We have already invested well over $15,000 into treatments for her, plus another $3,500 in the tests & scans it took to diagnose her and there's still some more (anywhere from $1900 - $5000 or more) to go. BUT remarkably, it IS working!!! She is noticeably improving, no more pain & repeated trips to the litterbox, no bleeding. She has energy, she eats well, has been even MORE loving/affectionate with us, & teaching her little brother how to be the absolute best cat he can be! It took a little while for them to acclimate to each other, but they get along SO well now! Zeke IDOLIZES her. If you didn't know it, you'd think she's a much younger cat, aside from the tumor, she's extremely healthy. So far, every vet & technician we've seen has been SHOCKED at her age, none of them can believe she's even over 10-12 years old.

The goal of ALL this is to put the cancer in remission & get as many precious years that we possibly can, all together as a family.

Please do NOT feel obligated to donate, we are just exploring every possible option to help pay for her (and my) treatments. Whether you are able to donate or not, we do ask that you PLEASE SHARE our story as often as you are comfortable & in as many places as possible. We greatly appreciate it & appreciate each and every one of you currently reading this... Thank you. Truly.

Any donations will go directly to the multiple credit card bills we've accumulated or future treatments if that's a possibility!

Update, November 2024:

It all happened so fast... On October 5th, she was fine, she went to sleep the final time on October 10th, 2024.

We noticed she wasn't eating on the night of October 6th & brought her in to the Oncologist the next day & they thought it was trouble with her kidneys or maybe a bad reaction from the chemotherapy, that was the hope. Unfortunately, after spending even MORE money we don't have on an overnight emergency vet stay, they found the cancer on her bladder had returned, and there was nothing they could do. Utterly devastated, we took her home one last time

We lost the fight... Cancer SUCKS.

It came back with a vengeance & was just too unrelenting

We did EVERYTHING we could. Left no stone unturned. Every veterinarian, every technician, even the ones at our primary vet, (Larkspur Cat Clinic) who saw her chart made it a point to tell us so. Said we were the best possible parents; we gave her every chance & she fought like HELL

But there just wasn't anything that could be done... it all happened so fast. She's gone

We got one last night & day with her at home before having to say goodbye to our precious & perfect babygirl

I held her as she went to sleep

Was able to compose & keep myself enough to use her favorite tone of my voice to say all her favorite things. Told her how beautiful she is and how much she is loved. As long as I'm living, My Baby you'll be...

We miss her so much.

We will never be the same.

Please... If you can help, we are in dire straits. The emergency vet maxed out two of my credit cards & the third is not far behind. I'm donating plasma twice a week & picking up extra work when & where I can, but it's not enough. We spent every dime possible & still lost our beloved Sweetie Girl. The money won't bring her back, but at least it would help us move forward. Please help.

I hate to have to ask, but we need help. Please donate if you are able, and share this as often as you are comfortable doing so...

Thank you.