Grey's 1 Year Cancer Remission Anniversary Wish

Hello, and Thank You for opening this up to read about my 13-year-old son, Grey’s Wish.

(EDIT: As of 11/7/22, Grey has raised $4,500 of his first $5000 goal to purchase Baby. His second and last goal is to raise the $8,500 for Stud. His 1st goal's end date is 11/22/22 and his 2nd goal's end-date is 12/31/22. The donation goal amount of the Go Fund Me started at $13,500 but is lowered anytime we get a donation outside of Go Fund Me. As of 11/14 it is set to $11,200.)

~Grey's Wish~

Grey is determined to turn his childhood cancer into something great, something so great that it empowers him to support other children battling cancer.

He is determined to breed the same type of dog that gave him all the emotional love and support to get through his cancer treatment. He is going to donate a certain amount of puppies to other Superheros fighting their own cancer battles. His mission is called Superhero Frenchies of Florida.

He can’t do this alone and needs your help to take his dream to help other children and turn it into reality.

(Grey and his Frenchie Chip, early 2021)

In celebration of his one-year remission date, Grey is requesting the help of friends, family, and supporters so that he can purchase two Frenchie puppies to breed.

His goal is to donate not just puppies but also supplies, dog training, and money towards bills to help families of Superheros through treatment.

His very first Superhero is already chosen; you can read about her below. But first, the quick backstory about Grey.

~Grey’s Story~

Grey’s brain cancer journey started on January 22, 2021. After a month of debilitating headaches, a STAT MRI revealed a massive brain tumor on his left frontal lobe.

Grey was admitted immediately for surgery, and the long journey through surgeries, Proton Therapy and Chemotherapy began.

He has been in complete remission since November 4, 2021, which was the end of his treatment phase and the beginning of the recovery phase. Since then, Grey has worked so hard to relearn so much- rebuilding from the ground up and learning to walk again.

Things are not back to "normal" yet, and will never be, completely. However, Grey's life became "mostly" normal again not too long ago when he officially returned to school full-time in August of 2022.

Grey is in 8th grade and in the advanced STEAM program, National Junior Honor Society, and he is doing fantastic. He has to work twice as hard as he used to, but he rarely complains and keeps his signature positive attitude.

While Grey is one-year cancer free, he has four more years to conquer. Due to the high probability of recurrence with his specific type of brain cancer, we remain vigilant and do everything in our power to keep Grey happy, healthy, and in a positive mindset.

We live "four months at a time," taking nothing for granted and celebrating each clear MRI as a miraculous victory. These mini celebrations of life will continue every four months until he is entirely in the clear on November 4, 2026.

~Grey's Frenchie, Chip~

This Wish was inspired by Grey’s first Wish when he started his cancer journey. Grey raised money for his Frenchie, Chip so that he would have a companion through his treatment and a therapy dog to visit other children fighting cancer once treatment was over.

Having Chip by Grey's side through his cancer treatment and recovery was invaluable for him. Chip went to Proton Therapy treatments, Chemotherapy treatments and hospital visits with him. Chip never left Grey's side when he was home, healing between treatments and recovering.

That has never stopped- Chip is never far from Grey. Their bond is powerful, and Chip has been an essential part of Grey's recovery and remission.

~Our First Superhero~

Selah Grace is a brave little girl we met at the beginning of Grey’s treatment at the Proton Therapy Institute. She has Stage 4 high-risk Neuroblastoma.

When we met Selah, she was beginning her third cancer treatment journey and was understandably anxious and scared. Her mother, Michelle, asked if she could take Grey’s Frenchie, Chip, into the treatment room with her to help ease anxiety during the procedure.

Chip was by Selah’s side for her procedure and helped her so much just by being there. Selah Grace ended up being Chip’s first Superhero.

(Selah Grace and Chip)

Selah Grace is currently on her third trial, which consists of scans, MRI’s and bilateral bone marrow trial injections. She is a fighter- she has been through so much, but she always maintains her positive attitude and zest for life. Selah Grace is truly an inspiration.

~The Plan~

We will work with Chip’s breeder, Jeannie, who owns Diamond City Bulldogs to purchase our male and female Frenchie for breeding. Jeannie will be by our side, guiding us through this process.

The name of the female we will be purchasing to breed is Baby, born in June of 2022. Our yet-to-be-named Stud was born on October 4th, 2022, and is a Fluffy Carrier Lilac Merle. We call him Stud, for now.

(Grey, his sister, and Jeannie the day we picked up Chip)

(Baby, our mama)

(Our Stud, yet to be named)

When Baby has her first litter, Selah Grace will get to choose the puppy that she wants. Since Selah lives in North Carolina, we will locate a vet to take care of vaccinations and puppy care. We will donate food, toys, and needed puppy items and find a local dog training facility to train her puppy.

~The Goal Moving Forward~

1. If we meet our both goals by raising the $5,000 for Baby and $8,500 for Stud:

We will be able to donate two puppies from Baby- one to Selah Grace and another family with a Superhero fighting cancer.

~ items for the donated puppy: toys, crate, bed, bulk food bag, etc.

~ $3000 towards bills for families with Superheroes fighting cancer

~ one week of dog training for both puppies (where Chip was trained or similar)

~ 25% of each Stud fee towards a cancer family’s bills

The total amount donated from Baby and Stud's litters would be over $20,000.

~Our Ultimate Goal~

One of Baby's first puppies will be our next mama. That mama's first litter will be the next mama and so on and so forth. Each mama takes 3 years to go through an entire raising/breeding cycle.

The ultimate goal is to be able to donate three puppies every 18 months. We will be working on grant writing for the breeding expenses and if we can raise enough, we may be able to start the end goal immediately. If not, it will take a few years to break even and reach our goal.

~In Closing~

(Grey and Chip, Training Session October 2022)

So much good will come from this endeavor, and we genuinely believe that this will blossom into something bigger than we anticipate.

We have been working hard on this, researching and connecting with local businesses and non-profits for guidance and suggestions. Everyone we meet has been so helpful and enthusiastic about Grey’s mission to become part of our community.

Thank you again, and please share this Go Fund Me and help make Grey’s Wish come true. If you donate, please like our FB page and message us your address so we can send you something to show you our gratitude.

We look forward to sharing this journey on Grey’s FB Page: Team Grey Matters.

Warmly,

Grey’s Mom, for our Superhero Grey

PS- You can follow Selah Grace’s journey on her FB Page: Selah Graces’s Journey.