Surgery for Gemma

Hi,

My name is Tom.

I play squash with Humberto and over the years I have become very good friends with Humberto and Gloria. This friendship also extends to our dogs who often like to play together and run through the little streams and ravines of the Boulder playgrounds, chasing each other.

Recently Humberto and Gloria's seven year old chocolate lab Gemma hurt her left rear knee and was left with a torn ligament. This has made it difficult for Gemma to walk properly, and impossible for her to run and play freely. It has also left her with damage in her other leg that will likely require surgery later.

While there was hope of natural recovery initially, it has now become clear that the only way for her to regain a decent quality of life is to have surgery on her knee. The surgery is a relatively standard procedure, but unfortunately - as many of you probably know - also a costly one.

Initially, when I suggested the idea of support through Gofundme, Humberto was reluctant, not wanting to be dependent on the financial help of others, not even and especially not his friends. But Humberto and Gloria have their family to support and like many others, they have seen their income be reduced and uncertain in the wake of the pandemic. Because of this, Humberto finally gave in to my repeated suggestions to accept some help in the form of this campaign.

The cost of the surgery is roughly $4000 and Humberto's already paid some of that and will hopefully be able to cover the whole balance through the contributions of this fundraiser. Any additional money would be used for the very likely future operation of Gemma's right knee.

I'd love to see Gemma back to her old self, romping and running through the bushes without concern for her health and I'd love to know that Humberto and Gloria can spend many more years of quality time with their dog.

If you'd like to contribute in some way to that end, I'm sure they will be very grateful.

Thank you