Hello, my name is Melissa, but my friends call me Missy. I’ve been working as a vet receptionist for as long as I can remember, and I truly love seeing all the pups and kittens every day. Unfortunately, due to arthritis in my hips, my day-to-day life became extremely difficult, and it reached a point where it affected my quality of life. I was in constant pain, even waking up throughout the night. Instead of being able to walk around freely and kneel down to pet the pups, I had to use a cane just to get around.

After years of back and forth with doctors and insurance, I was finally able to schedule a hip replacement. As someone who works in the vet field and cares for those who cannot advocate for themselves, our pay is unfortunately not as much as one would need to live comfortably. I live paycheck to paycheck, and while I tried to plan for my recovery, I could not have planned for the complications that followed. These complications led to numerous hospital trips and even spending Christmas Eve in the emergency room, which meant I had to take a longer leave of absence from work. Because of this, the funds I had saved quickly became low, and now I am on the brink of falling behind on my bills.

The funds raised will go directly toward paying my monthly bills while I recover. Since I don’t have vacation or sick days at my job, missing work means missing a paycheck, and it’s been hard to keep up with essential expenses. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart how grateful I am for your help during this difficult time. As someone who has never asked for charity before, this is very hard for me, and I want to thank everyone who is able to help, even in the smallest way.