Help beloved dog walker get new knees

I met Paula about 2 years ago at the park while she was walking dogs. I was down on my luck and at rock bottom, and I felt hopeless. But even though I was at my absolute worst, she saw past that and saw my potential and offered me a job to walk dogs with her. That opportunity has changed my life in so many ways and this Christmas I want to do the same for her. Ever since we met in the park that day, I've always known her to have very bad knees, and that makes being a dog walker so much harder than it already is. And she has been trying to save up the money to get her knee surgery for so long but she keeps running into problems because life keeps dealing her bad hands. She finally had a surgery day set for February of next year and I want to make this time in her life a lot less stressful by making sure she doesn't have to worry about financing this surgery. Paula loves her job and her dog pack so much and this would be life changing for her and I would love to help change her life just like she changed mine. I really hope you can find it in your heart to help. Even a small amount would help immensely. 

In the original post I had the goal at $5,000 because of my naivety on the price range of a surgery like this one. But I also underestimated the love everyone has for Paula. Honestly if we can I would love to be able to raise enough by February, I'd like to pay for the whole surgery, but beggars can't be choosers and she will be and I already am so grateful for all of your contributions!