Help Gypsy Battle Stage 5 Lymphoma

Hi everyone, my name is Reagan. I graduated high school in June of 2019. Before graduation, I had told my parents the only thing I really wanted was a puppy. I’ve always struggled with anxiety and making friends, and I really just wanted a best friend that I could have with me always.

After graduation, my mom had given me the go-ahead to research and figure out all of the information for adopting a puppy. My mom was also simultaneously in the market for a new car and decided after we landed in Pennsylvania that she would get the new car, we would pick up my new puppy, and make a big trip out of it and drive all the way back home to Colorado.

Less than a few weeks later, we had booked our one-way flights to Pennsylvania. The first thing we did after touching down was get the new car and drive the next 45 minutes to pick up my beautiful girl, Gypsy. Gypsy is a Golden Retriever, born on April 4th, 2019, on a farm in Pennsylvania. She is 1 of 8 sisters and has always been quite mischievous. When we first had a chance to meet all of the puppies, Gypsy was the only one off on her own. While all of her sisters played together, she was off in the flower bed, beheading flowers from this lady’s garden. I knew immediately then that I had to have her. She was about 11-12 weeks old when we took her home, and so small. We had never been to New York City, and because we were so close after flying all the way to Pennsylvania, we decided we would drive over to NY for the night with Gypsy. Just to get the chance to see it. Gypsy, who had never been in a car before, threw up on me several times on the trip. Requiring me to go through the 3 sets of clothes I had brought with me very quickly. But she was never discouraged or scared and was always ready for the next thing. She had so much fun learning to prop her tiny feet up and stick her little head out of the window as we drove through the city so she could get a better view. She walked around on a leash for the first time, saw herself for the first time in a mirror, and had her first warm bath. She played with ice cubes on the hotel floor and had her first taste of real food and hasn’t turned back since. Gypsy got to visit and see New York City, Coney Island, and The Bean in Chicago all in that one trip!

Of course, now it’s a number of years later. Gypsy is now 6, and she is my absolute soul-dog. She has always stayed extremely adventurous. I taught her how to swim and paddleboard. She loves to go for walks and hike; she climbs and scales rocks and boulders like it’s nothing. She does everything with the biggest pink tongue and smile on her face. She loves to snuggle and eat treats and human food if you’re willing to share. Hell, she’ll even climb the counters and take it upon herself if you’re not willing. She loves to cuddle and snuggle and has the biggest heart. She can sense when I am sad and lays in my lap to comfort me. She spends a lot of days in our backyard, running up and down along the fence line because there are groundhogs and other small animals that she loves to sit and watch all day. And her big/little sister Jemma adores Gypsy with her whole heart.

Last week, one morning after Gypsy came into my room to lay in bed with me, I felt lumps and bumps in her throat. I wasn’t entirely concerned at first, but definitely noted that it was not normal. And because she was already due for a nail trim, I decided to call and make an appointment for her that day. Upon our visit, the doctor came back to the room to let me know that the swelling was extreme and that it could either be caused by an infection or lymphoma.

After some samples were drawn and sent to the lab for testing, and a week full of agony, we finally received a call back from her doctor. Yesterday, we received the awful news that Gypsy has been diagnosed with (at the very least) Stage 3 Large Cell Lymphoma, which unfortunately is the aggressive form of the cancer that progresses quickly. Her doctors have only given her 6-12 months, with treatment. If we don’t go through with chemo, I don’t know how much longer I will have left with Gypsy, and I can’t bear it. Everyone is extremely heartbroken, as Gypsy has been the glue for our family. Aside from the swelling in her lymph nodes, her energy levels, appetite, and thirst are all normal. We’ve learned that chemotherapy is an option for her, and because she is still in great shape, I really want to go that route to allow us to have more time with Gypsy.

Unfortunately, the steep costs for chemotherapy have me worried that I won’t be able to keep up with the treatments. Any help would be extremely and gratefully appreciated, whether it’s just sharing this post, or leaving any kind of donation. Even if anyone has just been through a similar situation, and has any recommendations for supplements and foods we can be giving Gypsy during this time, it would be greatly appreciated. I want to do whatever I can to save my baby. Thank you so much if you read through this, have a blessed and beautiful day.

Edit: Today is July 23rd, Monday was Gypsy’s first chemotherapy appointment! While she was being treated, we received a call from her doctor updating us that the lymphoma has progressed to Stage 5. Aside from a few symptoms here and there, treatment seems to be going well and Gypsy is persevering!