Raising for Ellen & George's Recovery
Donation protected
On a cold, winter night in 2017, Ellen found herself face to face with the puppy who had caught her eye on the Humane Society's website earlier that day. She saw his brown eyebrows and big smile and instantly knew they were meant to be.
George quickly became the perfect canine companion to Ellen and Scott. His favorite thing in the world (besides a good sprint around the yard) is to snuggle up in bed or on the couch in between his mom and dad. Luckily for George, a good cuddle is Ellen's favorite thing to do too.
George and Ellen have shared a special bond since their first day together. George has an incredible sixth sense and always knows when something is wrong - jumping in to offer cuddles, love, and support right when it's needed the most.
This sixth sense came in handy when Ellen's health took a turn for the worse in June 2020. She was diagnosed was a large Prolactinoma (a hormone producing tumor on the pituitary gland in the brain) and immediately began treatment to try and shrink the tumor with medication.
The medication came with on onslaught of debilitating side effects, but Ellen kept pushing through, hoping the tumor would shrink fast enough to be able to stop taking the medication sooner than the average 3-5 year duration most patients take it for. George and Scott were there through every step of the journey with Ellen - ensuring she was always supported and making her smile at every chance they could.
Unfortunately, in March 2021 the side effects reached a level that Ellen was no longer able to continue fighting through. This left her with only one other treatment option: to have brain surgery to remove the tumor. Although this was initially the last resort for Ellen and her doctors, everyone agrees that after the 9 months of struggling with the first line of treatment, surgery was an easy decision to make.
She will be having surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN on May 26th, and the neurosurgeon she'll be working with is one of the best in the country. Thankfully, she's in the very best of hands and she feels confident that everything will go smoothly.
Unfortunately, while Ellen was recuperating her health after stopping the medication, George ran into his own major health problem that left Ellen and Scott scrambling to get him the help he needed.
At the beginning of April, a lump about the size of a golf ball appeared overnight on George's neck. George was brought to the Emergency Vet to have it looked at and was sent back home to await test results. While at home waiting, the lump continued to grow rapidly in a matter of days, eventually growing to the size of half of a melon on his neck and shoulder joint. It caused his front right leg to bend inwards at an unnatural angle while it grew underneath his scapula and led to a loss of use of his leg. As the mass was progressing, Ellen & Scott worked frantically to get George in to be seen for a CT scan and surgery, but quickly learned about the widespread shortage of veterinarians across Minnesota right now.
Eventually, after 4 visits to the Emergency Vet in less than 2 weeks, George was able to be squeezed in for a CT Scan and immediate surgery to remove the tumor that was growing. The tumor was 15 centimeters long when removed and larger than the size of a softball. It was confirmed to be a Stage 1 Soft Tissue Sarcoma and because of its location touching his spine, several ribs, and going underneath his scapula, it was not able to be fully excised.
George will need to undergo radiation therapy to kill the remaining cancerous tumor cells and prevent the cancer from returning. Thankfully, his prognosis is very promising and at only four and one half years old, George will have many more years to spend enjoying life with his parents.
George will be undergoing his treatment at the University of Minnesota Veterinarian Oncology Center at the same time that Ellen will be having brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic and they'll both be able to recover from their tumor removals at home together.
With both of these events happening at the same time, it has put an enormous financial burden on their family.
Between Ellen & George's procedures and treatments, they will end up having to cover more than $20k in out of pocket costs. Any funds raised through this GoFundMe will go directly towards those medical expenses for both Ellen & George.
Any help that can be provided is so appreciated! As updates become available, we will share them here on this page so everyone can keep up to date on both Ellen & George's recovery milestones. We thank everyone reading this for your support, generosity, positive thoughts, prayers, and intentions as these two peas in a pod keep each other pushing forward through these difficult times. Our love and appreciation are with you forever.
If you can please share this fundraiser on your social media pages or with friends and family to spread the word, it would be greatly appreciated.
George quickly became the perfect canine companion to Ellen and Scott. His favorite thing in the world (besides a good sprint around the yard) is to snuggle up in bed or on the couch in between his mom and dad. Luckily for George, a good cuddle is Ellen's favorite thing to do too.
George and Ellen have shared a special bond since their first day together. George has an incredible sixth sense and always knows when something is wrong - jumping in to offer cuddles, love, and support right when it's needed the most.
This sixth sense came in handy when Ellen's health took a turn for the worse in June 2020. She was diagnosed was a large Prolactinoma (a hormone producing tumor on the pituitary gland in the brain) and immediately began treatment to try and shrink the tumor with medication.
The medication came with on onslaught of debilitating side effects, but Ellen kept pushing through, hoping the tumor would shrink fast enough to be able to stop taking the medication sooner than the average 3-5 year duration most patients take it for. George and Scott were there through every step of the journey with Ellen - ensuring she was always supported and making her smile at every chance they could.
Unfortunately, in March 2021 the side effects reached a level that Ellen was no longer able to continue fighting through. This left her with only one other treatment option: to have brain surgery to remove the tumor. Although this was initially the last resort for Ellen and her doctors, everyone agrees that after the 9 months of struggling with the first line of treatment, surgery was an easy decision to make.
She will be having surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN on May 26th, and the neurosurgeon she'll be working with is one of the best in the country. Thankfully, she's in the very best of hands and she feels confident that everything will go smoothly.
Unfortunately, while Ellen was recuperating her health after stopping the medication, George ran into his own major health problem that left Ellen and Scott scrambling to get him the help he needed.
At the beginning of April, a lump about the size of a golf ball appeared overnight on George's neck. George was brought to the Emergency Vet to have it looked at and was sent back home to await test results. While at home waiting, the lump continued to grow rapidly in a matter of days, eventually growing to the size of half of a melon on his neck and shoulder joint. It caused his front right leg to bend inwards at an unnatural angle while it grew underneath his scapula and led to a loss of use of his leg. As the mass was progressing, Ellen & Scott worked frantically to get George in to be seen for a CT scan and surgery, but quickly learned about the widespread shortage of veterinarians across Minnesota right now.
Eventually, after 4 visits to the Emergency Vet in less than 2 weeks, George was able to be squeezed in for a CT Scan and immediate surgery to remove the tumor that was growing. The tumor was 15 centimeters long when removed and larger than the size of a softball. It was confirmed to be a Stage 1 Soft Tissue Sarcoma and because of its location touching his spine, several ribs, and going underneath his scapula, it was not able to be fully excised.
George will need to undergo radiation therapy to kill the remaining cancerous tumor cells and prevent the cancer from returning. Thankfully, his prognosis is very promising and at only four and one half years old, George will have many more years to spend enjoying life with his parents.
George will be undergoing his treatment at the University of Minnesota Veterinarian Oncology Center at the same time that Ellen will be having brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic and they'll both be able to recover from their tumor removals at home together.
With both of these events happening at the same time, it has put an enormous financial burden on their family.
Between Ellen & George's procedures and treatments, they will end up having to cover more than $20k in out of pocket costs. Any funds raised through this GoFundMe will go directly towards those medical expenses for both Ellen & George.
Any help that can be provided is so appreciated! As updates become available, we will share them here on this page so everyone can keep up to date on both Ellen & George's recovery milestones. We thank everyone reading this for your support, generosity, positive thoughts, prayers, and intentions as these two peas in a pod keep each other pushing forward through these difficult times. Our love and appreciation are with you forever.
If you can please share this fundraiser on your social media pages or with friends and family to spread the word, it would be greatly appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Krista Jo Boyum
Organizer
Ramsey, MN
Ellen Cocchiarella Tyrrell
Beneficiary