Help Kat get back on her feet!

Hi, my name is Kat and I’m a full time veterinary technician and part time student. I am generally too stubborn to ask with help for things, but since 2018 I have been faced with a series of unfortunate events that have been difficult to overcome. I am setting my goal for this fundraiser high, but I don’t necessarily expect to even come close to that. As of writing, I have reached out to immediate family members and at this time they have declined to help me. Being an only child, this has been exceptionally stressful. 


Starting in the beginning of 2018, my stepfather Pat Hawco fell ill again from a reoccurrence of cancer. He had previously gone into remission and was doing well, but all of that rapidly changed. In a matter of months, he eventually suffered a massive heart attack after becoming septic due to complications from procedures to try and tackle the cancer as it metastasized throughout his body. He was placed on life support overnight. Sadly, the following day, we had to discontinue efforts to save him. He passed away surrounded by family.

As you can imagine, that process was extremely traumatizing and left my mother in a very vulnerable mental state. My parents had a good heart, but unfortunately leading up to Pat’s passing, they took on a few too many pets than they could handle. My mother also was very overwhelmed trying to take care of the house and finances, so ultimately I stepped in to take care of everything. This has drained me both financially, emotionally and physically as I’ve worked multiple jobs while trying to finish school. 

On top of all of these things, I am in very poor health myself. I have a rare autoimmune disease that has caused a cascade of medical events throughout my life. I am often hospitalized and will require very expensive and intense ongoing treatments, surgeries and medications throughout the remainder of my life. It isn’t something I enjoy talking about, but I am very overwhelmed. With the amount of stress I am under, my doctors are concerned that it is having serious consequences to my health. My medications alone are roughly $2,000 a month to keep me alive, which has forced me to rely on Medicaid. 

Another unforeseen circumstance most recently has made the future of my family home uncertain. This has been catastrophic, as my boyfriend and I have already invested so much time and money to trying to fix it up and keep a roof over my mom’s head. 


With all that being said, my goal of this fundraiser is 
A) Be able to pay off the remainder of any outstanding bills related to everything mentioned above
B) Make sure going forward I am able to continue to help my mom, the pets and take care of the house 
& C) Pay for my education and begin to save up for a house where I can be reunited with my pets





Thank you for reading. I’ve attempted to list everything else in chronological order below with their financial impacts. 



2018: Pat’s cancer reoccurrence, out of work for most of year

Transfer balance from Pat’s veterinary bills- $505.75

4/29/18: Emergency surgery for family cat “Oscar” - $1,326.83

7/5/18: My cat “Maxwell” is euthanized after hospital stay- $4,870.69

7/9/18: Family cat “Makalia” suffers complications from diabetes $286.79

8/14/18: My cat “Mr. Kitten” breaks his leg, requires several weeks in a cast- $422.50

8/17/18: Family cat “Makalia” is euthanized

10/25/18: Pat is removed from life support and subsequently passes away

Jul ‘18: Kat officially diagnosed with epilepsy

12/9/18: Family cat “Merlin” dental surgery - $809.18 (REHOMED)

3/10/19: Pat’s golden retriever “Kassidy” requires emergency surgery - $3,589.87

5/21/19: Pat’s cat “Jaeger” found dead, likely heart attack in sleep

8/16/19: “Kassidy” requires second emergency surgery and extended ICU stay: $5,770.08. (REHOMED)

Aug/Sep ‘19: Family cats “April” and “Honey” receive wellness care to be placed up for adoption ~$300

3/3/20: Family cat “Jack” dental surgery and eye biopsy - $893.73

3/17/20: Kat hospitalized with complications from COVID symptoms, out of work until June

5/28/20: Mom’s cat “Kasey” put to sleep after ongoing severe health issues

8/28/20: Family cat “Oscar” emergency dental work - $1,016.04

1/25/21: Kat admitted to hospital for major surgery and experienced complications afterwards, out of work for two months.

Additionally, I have invested approximately $2,000 into the upkeep of my parents home and property along with countless hours by myself and Kevin. These numbers also do not reflect the ongoing medical care of Pat’s senior golden retriever “Kolby” who was diagnosed with cancer last year.