Help My Best Friend & Partner In Crime Tucker

I was born with a rare progressive lung disease - Cystic Fibrosis - that leads to irreversible scarring of the lungs. Through a selfless donor, I regained the ability to breathe again after undergoing a lifesaving 12hour double-lung transplant surgery February 5th of this year. The recovery process for this surgery is long and comes with it own unique set of challenges - organ rejection, physical therapy, new medications, etc. For the first year, transplant is critical because this is the time period I am most at risk of developing an infection due to the immunosuppressants I have to take to prevent organ rejection. Until my team clears me to do so, I cannot work. I live on a fixed income in the form of SSDI. When emergencies arise, it is hard for me to figure out a way to pay for them.

Tucker is my black lab who loves three things in life: water, his ball, and me. I recently took Tucker to the vet because he has been limping and has not been his normal, playful self. Upon examination, the vet team recommended surgery to eliminate his pain. Due to the specialized nature of the surgery, I simply cannot afford the cost. Tucker tore his cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) which is the human equivalent of an ACL tear.

For some, it is probably silly of me to think that I underwent a transplant - a major surgery with no long-term guarantees that it will be successful - and I am more concerned about my dog than I am about myself. I think that is a testament to how important Tucker is to me. The animals in my life have always been a huge support to me. When medicine doesn’t work, their love and companionship heal on a different level. Rather than focusing on my own recovery, I am stressed about Tucker and his well-being. Tucker has been there for me when I needed a companion the most, and now I want to be there for him. An organ transplant saved my life, now I want to give my dog a better one.