Help Switt with Medical Bills & Cancer Treatment

Insurance Status Update (10/9): Hey everyone! I wanted to let you all know that Switt is now officially on my health insurance! I'm currently working with hospital billing and the various physician groups to update her information and apply insurance to as much of her current charges as possible. It is an absolute relief on our end that will alleviate a ton of stress... we're already dealing with so much!

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Hi everyone, Sonk here! I'm Switt's Discord community admin, chief Twitch channel moderator, and IRL husbando! As some of you may be aware, our idiot older sister werewolf VTuber suffered from acute health issues starting a couple of weeks ago, and it quickly spiraled into a terrifying situation.

This is the part where I ask you to help us out. The initial call from billing puts the total cost at $350,000 with no insurance. Of course, we'll be exhausting every ounce of financial assistance we can get through the hospital. Mama Wolf has connections in the hospital's billing department, so we can get some inside help to tip the advantage in our direction. But with long-term treatments and hospital stays, lost income (for both of us), outpatient labs and procedures, and potential travel to either MD Anderson or Memorial Slone Kettering, the cost will still find a way to creep up.

100% of the funds donated to this GoFundMe will go to covering immediate hospital and treatment costs, long-term cancer treatment, doctor's fees, and travel.

So please, help Switt and me out. I'm bad about never asking for help for anything, yet here I am. I just want to enjoy a long, happy marriage with my number one.

Below is a timeline of events from when this all started to where we are now.

1. The Beginning (August 28 - September 2nd)

We were hanging out at mama and papa wolf's place for dinner a couple of weekends before Labor Day when Switt complained of pain in her lower back and leg. Suspecting a pinched sciatic nerve, she went to a massage therapist a couple of days later to help release the nerve in her lower back.

Almost immediately (after she got home), she noticed severe bruising where the massage therapist worked her lower back and hand. Over the next 48 hours, the bruising continued to spread and worsen. We went to an urgent care clinic to get our wolf assessed. The doctor on staff ordered some labs and gave a referral to a hematologist. We were told that we would get a call back by Tuesday.

2. Concern (September 6 - September 9)

After not hearing back from urgent care, we went back. The original CBC that was ordered never came back. Either the lab forgot about it, or there was a problem. But the doctor submitted for another CBC test just in case. But the lab results did come back, and they weren't great. Switt's blood platelets were half of what they should have been. The doctor expedited the appointment with the hematologist.

The second CBC was late to come back again. And the cell counts were lower across the board.

Fast-forward to Friday, and we're at the hematologist's office, and he gave us the lowdown: he needed to check what was going on with her blood at the source. That meant a bone marrow biopsy. "I can schedule you for either next Monday or Thursday." Unwilling to handle the anxiety of waiting days for a procedure, we decided to do it on Monday as soon as possible.

The weekend was stressful. Yes, there was the anxiety of waiting for a painful procedure, but now we were noticing direct effects on Switt's health (though we didn't realize it at the time). Going up the stairs put her out of breath. Walking around the neighborhood (let alone the mall) was becoming more of a struggle. We needed answers soon; this biopsy will hopefully help provide us answers as to what is wrong.

3. The Downward Spiral (September 12)

Monday was bone marrow biopsy day, and it was done all outpatient, so Switt could go home as soon as she came out from her sedation. We were told that preliminary results would be back in 72 hours, and a full report would be ready by the weekend. I had set up an air mattress downs

Switt frantically woke me up close to 3:00 am, saying she felt something wet. I checked the pressure dressing on her biopsy site, and it was saturated. After patching over it and reassuring her that everything was good for the time being, I told her that we should call the hematologist first thing in the morning to have the dressing changed.

Morning came, and Switt called the doctor's office. It was 9:30 am, and they had us scheduled for an appointment in an hour, so it was a little bit of a rush to get over there. They grabbed some additional blood work upon check-in and called us back to get the biopsy site assessed. She was not clotting properly. And this is where things started to take a turn.

Switt's hemoglobin and platelet counts were still dropping, numbers entering dangerous territory. With the hematologist recommending a blood transfusion, but with no available spots for the day, we decided it was time to go to the emergency room.

4. An Emergency (September 13 - September 16)

It was a tough decision to go to the hospital. We know healthcare in the United States is prohibitively expensive. And without health insurance, Switt would quickly be sunk by the hospital bills.

The estimated wait time to get in was just over two hours, but the hematologist called in advance, so we were fast-tracked to a room and admitted upstairs in far less time. Switt was finally getting blood transfusions to keep her alive. Because of her symptoms, the doctors started proactive chemotherapy treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. A solution was found, but we were told it would be a month-long recovery in the hospital. Our wedding that was set for October 9th would have to be postponed. We decided to get married in the hospital room in hopes that I could get a head start on adding her to my health insurance. September 14th became our new wedding date. Then the CT scan results came in. The imaging showed a solid mass about 45 cm across in Switt's abdomen. Surgery was the only option, as she was now showing early signs of organ failure. It had to be done on Friday, or there was a possibility that Switt would not make it through the weekend. The mass was instead two separate masses either on or in both ovaries. Both ovaries had to be removed. Confident that he got everything, her surgeon sent her to the ICU for a couple of days to recover over the weekend.

5. Things Looking Up (September 18 - September 21)

Switt's recovery was fast. Her blood levels were finally stabilizing, her bruising was starting to go away, and she could sit up and walk short distances in the two or three days following the surgery. She finally got moved out of the ICU Sunday afternoon to the medical oncology floor so that she could continue to recover. Things are looking up, but as test results started to come in, we were left with more questions than answers. The future was once again uncertain.

6. Next Steps (September 21 - ???)

The bone marrow biopsy results finally came back, and the slides showed loads of immature cancer cells. Leukemia ruled out. Ovarian cancer ruled out.

The doctors established that she has cancer, although they couldn't give a formal diagnosis. A PET scan is scheduled for Friday, but although the hospital has the best team of cancer doctors around, this case has stumped them. Cell samples have been sent out to Mayo Clinic for genetic sequencing. While waiting for that to come back, the doctors recommend that we get a second opinion from doctors either at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX or at Sloan Memorial Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. However, we did a preliminary diagnosis: alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Switt is now on chemotherapy to start tackling the cancer cells, and the doctors are optimistic that this will improve her blood counts as she continues to receive treatment.

And that's where we stand today. It's a lot to take in, and Switt wanted me to be as transparent as possible, journaling out all the significant milestones, news, and movements made since the beginning.

Thank you all.