Maverick's Battle with Stage 5B Lymphoma

This is about a dog who is more than a dog. His name is Maverick Ford. He was born on March 16, 2019. I got him just starting in my second year of nursing school. He became my companion, my confidant, my friend, and so much more. He has been with me through lonely nights working long hours at the hospital and is the best cuddle bug in the world. He has a little brother named Humphrey Ford who is his best friend and play mate at homes as well as a big brother to our baby girl, Charlotte, who loves “her Mavwick”. His favorite toy is a rabbit who we call Bun Bun, which he sleeps with every night, alongside his Momma.

Wednesday, March 5th, 2025.

Started out as a semi-normal day. I went to work bright and early. Work as a dialysis nurse starts at 5 a.m. My husband and I both decided he should try and take Maverick to the vet today because he hasn’t eaten very much at all the past few days and had been laying around. Fast forward to noon, I go to lunch break and check my phone. Many messages from my husband. “Maverick is dying, rushing him to ER vets now, our vet says his hemoglobin is 0.5.” My heart immediately sank. Calling my husband on the phone, we are both crying hysterically. Our vet told us if we would have waited another day, he would likely be gone and was unsure how Maverick was still standing.

Driving to the ER was a blur. All I can think about is what has happened and what did I miss or ignore.

Fast forward to arriving at the ER vet in Little Rock (who has been giving our Maverick the best care possible). Maverick receives a blood transfusion and they find the cause of bleeding. “A sizable mass in the duodenum, with multiple enlarged lymph nodes.” Our hearts sank again.

March 11, 2025: Cytology results confirmed he has aggressive T-cell lymphoma, Stage 5B.

March 12, 2025: The oncologist states we have to start chemotherapy right away. We tell them we want to do everything we can to save him, but our funds, me being a nurse and my husband just starting a new position with having a little one, is a lot to pay for up front. We do have credit cards and are using them, and have considered selling my car… Around 10k in chemotherapy bills and specialty oncologist vet visits alone, not including ER visits, we have spent around $7000 already. We can’t fathom having to give up on him when he still has a chance. We just have to give him one.

We are begging for any support to help our Maverick.

With love,

The Fords