Roadie the Road Dog Cancer Treatment Fundraiser
Don protégé
When we first met, Roadie was actively saving herself. Roadie had chewed herself off a leash and was looking for help in the street.
Roadie needs saving again, this time from a treatable cancer. We're asking for your help.
In March of 2018 I was on a bicycle tour with my girlfriend Julie and few friends riding south through Alabama. A scrappy little black dog came running out of the bushes but wasn't barking at or chasing me, she just ran alongside and seemed to be pleading with glances.
Searching around the neighborhood, Julie and I found the yard where she had been tied to a tree with a very short lead in full sun with a dry bowl full of dirt and leaves. It didn't look like any people had been around for a very long time.
Once we understood the conditions she had been living in, it was obvious that she would be better off coming with us. In fact, she made it very clear that she would not be left behind and would not let us out of her sight.
With no way to bring this new pup the 20 miles we still had to travel that day, and with her getting worn out running just a few slow miles alongside us, we were very lucky to be offered a ride from a kind stranger.
We made our way to the next city and luckily found a bicycle trailer for dogs. Our first big adventure together was cycling the 400 miles from Auburn to New Orleans with Roadie riding in style.
Though only about 4 years old, little Roadie was very recently diagnosed with a cervical nerve root tumor at her C4-C5 vertebrae.
We have heard three medical opinions and the consensus is that treatment options with radiation offer the possibility of a positive outcome that will preserve a good quality of life and allow for more adventures in the years to come.
These treatment options are quite expensive but Roadie is very young and otherwise in extremely good health. Our expectation is to be able to buy a meaningful amount of time to enjoy together.
This first manifested as a mild limp I was concerned to see develop around the beginning of December 2020 and initially thought we'd just keep her off it and it would probably be fine. It progressed to where she could not walk without assistance.
Finally, after some critical vet visits, x-rays, and a round of steroids, we were convinced that there was a bulged disc that needed addressing so we went ahead with MRI to get a real look at the problem.
The veterinarian who performed the imaging was compassionate while telling us about the tumor growing in her spine and compressing her spinal cord.
Roadie can currently get around well because she is on a permanent low dose of steroids that serve to keep inflammation down and relieve the pressure on her spinal cord. With the swelling controlled in this way she is able to walk and run without assistance and, most importantly, is comfortable while we wait to schedule our next steps.
At this point I have spent over $4100 for diagnosis and consultations and this has wiped me out and put me in a precarious financial situation.
We have an estimate from the medical center of $7500 to $8200 to cover radiation treatments as an outpatient. X-ray or ultrasound visits aren't too terribly expensive at a few hundred dollars each but, in our experience so far, each MRI runs about $2400.
Your contribution to Roadie's medical fund will allow us to pursue a series of 20 small-dose radiation treatments at the OSU Veterinary Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
This treatment plan necessitates that we stay in Columbus to see it through. We can't be sure what rehabilitation will be required, if any, but x-rays and at least one further MRI as outlined in her after-care plan will be necessary to check on treatment effectiveness.
Soon you will be able to visit www.roadieroaddog.com for a more complete story of Roadie's amazing adventure and our travels that have taken us across the country, from the Gulf Coast to north Georgia forests to the Arizona desert, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and back to Ohio, where we currently live.
If you are not in a position to donate, please help us to share Roadie's story to as wide an audience as we can reach.
Thank you so much for your contribution to Roadie's care fund.
We WILL be making this happen and every bit of help we can get along the way will be appreciated more than you can know.
Roadie needs saving again, this time from a treatable cancer. We're asking for your help.
In March of 2018 I was on a bicycle tour with my girlfriend Julie and few friends riding south through Alabama. A scrappy little black dog came running out of the bushes but wasn't barking at or chasing me, she just ran alongside and seemed to be pleading with glances.
Searching around the neighborhood, Julie and I found the yard where she had been tied to a tree with a very short lead in full sun with a dry bowl full of dirt and leaves. It didn't look like any people had been around for a very long time.
Once we understood the conditions she had been living in, it was obvious that she would be better off coming with us. In fact, she made it very clear that she would not be left behind and would not let us out of her sight.
With no way to bring this new pup the 20 miles we still had to travel that day, and with her getting worn out running just a few slow miles alongside us, we were very lucky to be offered a ride from a kind stranger.
We made our way to the next city and luckily found a bicycle trailer for dogs. Our first big adventure together was cycling the 400 miles from Auburn to New Orleans with Roadie riding in style.
Though only about 4 years old, little Roadie was very recently diagnosed with a cervical nerve root tumor at her C4-C5 vertebrae.
We have heard three medical opinions and the consensus is that treatment options with radiation offer the possibility of a positive outcome that will preserve a good quality of life and allow for more adventures in the years to come.
These treatment options are quite expensive but Roadie is very young and otherwise in extremely good health. Our expectation is to be able to buy a meaningful amount of time to enjoy together.
This first manifested as a mild limp I was concerned to see develop around the beginning of December 2020 and initially thought we'd just keep her off it and it would probably be fine. It progressed to where she could not walk without assistance.
Finally, after some critical vet visits, x-rays, and a round of steroids, we were convinced that there was a bulged disc that needed addressing so we went ahead with MRI to get a real look at the problem.
The veterinarian who performed the imaging was compassionate while telling us about the tumor growing in her spine and compressing her spinal cord.
Roadie can currently get around well because she is on a permanent low dose of steroids that serve to keep inflammation down and relieve the pressure on her spinal cord. With the swelling controlled in this way she is able to walk and run without assistance and, most importantly, is comfortable while we wait to schedule our next steps.
At this point I have spent over $4100 for diagnosis and consultations and this has wiped me out and put me in a precarious financial situation.
We have an estimate from the medical center of $7500 to $8200 to cover radiation treatments as an outpatient. X-ray or ultrasound visits aren't too terribly expensive at a few hundred dollars each but, in our experience so far, each MRI runs about $2400.
Your contribution to Roadie's medical fund will allow us to pursue a series of 20 small-dose radiation treatments at the OSU Veterinary Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
This treatment plan necessitates that we stay in Columbus to see it through. We can't be sure what rehabilitation will be required, if any, but x-rays and at least one further MRI as outlined in her after-care plan will be necessary to check on treatment effectiveness.
Soon you will be able to visit www.roadieroaddog.com for a more complete story of Roadie's amazing adventure and our travels that have taken us across the country, from the Gulf Coast to north Georgia forests to the Arizona desert, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and back to Ohio, where we currently live.
If you are not in a position to donate, please help us to share Roadie's story to as wide an audience as we can reach.
Thank you so much for your contribution to Roadie's care fund.
We WILL be making this happen and every bit of help we can get along the way will be appreciated more than you can know.
Organisateur
Joshua Worley
Organisateur
Akron, OH