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Hi, my name is Joshua, and this is my dog, Chauncey.
4 years ago, Chauncey suffered a debilitating spinal stroke that left him paralyzed, but thanks to a gofundme campaign and some very generous people who donated $1,700, I was able to afford his physiotherapythat got him walking again.
Now I regret to tell you that Chauncey isn't doing so hot these days. He's suffered a leg injury that has again robbed him of his ability to walk. I think he can recovery again, but only if the injury is allowed to heal first, and the problem is because of his decreased mobility, it was not healing, but rather getting worse.
We saw 5 different vets before finally a wound management specialist told me she could come up with a comprehensive plan that would heal his wounds, but it would be expensive. I accepted.
I was determined to take care of the problem myself this time. I didn't want to run a 2nd gofundme campaign for the same dog; that felt like that would be double- dipping on people's generosity. So instead, I went out and got a second job, just to cover his medical expenses. And for a while, I was making it work!
That's when disaster struck. I got sick.
And not just an average cold; full on severe gastroenteritis (stomach flu).
We're talking...
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Vomiting bile
- Vomiting blood
- Vomiting green stuff
- Vomiting brown stuff
- Diarrhea
- Constipation (yes, I had a mix of diarrhea and Constipation, I can't explain it)
- The worst migraines of my life
- Hallucinations (audio and visual)
- Complete loss of strength
- General weakness/lethargy
- Passing in and out of consciousness, but never long enough to get more than an hour of sleep
- Extreme malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Sleep deprivation
- Muscle aches and pains all over my body
- Inability to swallow
- Loss of taste
- Loss of appetite
- White tongue
- Bruised under eyelids
- Chills and hot flashes
- Shakes (whether I was chilly or not)
- Dizziness
- Feeling like I might feint
- Deep orange pee
- Shortness of breath
- Cough
- Sniffles
And that's just the ones I can remember offhand.
But somehow worse than all of those were these tertiary symptoms:
Inability to take care of Chauncey
Like, at all! Remember he can't walk right now, so the other day, he spent about half an hour sitting in a pile of his own shit because I couldn't muster the strength to move him. It was heartbreaking.
Inability to work
To either of my two jobs. Which means no money is coming in, and I was running a razor tight budget between household bills and vetrinary bills, so a couple missed paychecks is leaving me in financial ruin.
Inability to continue to afford Chauncey's treatment
I don't know how bad his leg will get without this treatment, but it's safe to say it's real bad.
Inability to afford rent in a few days
The consequences of this one are self explanatory.
In fact, here's a list of all the things I can't afford that are due soon:
- Rent ($750)
- Hydro ($395)
- Gas ($70)
- Internet ($90)
- Chauncey's Medicare loan from 4 years ago ($450)
- Chauncey's medical plan ($165/week)
- Chauncey's transportation ($150/week)
- Chauncey's bandages ($50/week)
Which, if you add that all up, is about $3,215 of expenses I'll have to pay within the next few weeks, and that's not even factoring in food or other expenses.
And I only have about $300 to my name right now... And no money coming in until I kick this illness.
And if all that wasn't bad enough, I just found out today I was taking the wrong medication for my gastro flu, which likely has done damage to my G.I. tract, and prolonged my recovery there.
So, I'm in deep trouble. Chauncey and I both are. I can't do this by myself. I need help. Lots of it. Gofundme helped us before, so I'm turning to you again. Please consider donating. You could be saving two lives.
Thank you.