Save my PTSD dog Hrafi from cancer

Campaign Created by: shari lucas-ferrera

The funds from this campaign will be received by shari lucas-ferrera.

Goal: USD $10,000
Raised: USD $ 11,105

In November, my girl Dobe, Seven dropped dead in the yard and I thought that was the worst thing, ever.

It was not.

Thursday,January 6, I noticed an odd bump on Hrafi's hock and the vet x-rayed him the next day and the worst thing became reality.

He has osteosarcoma.

There is a veterinary oncology hospital in Leesburg VA, and God willing, we will be going there and God willing, they will find a way to save his life, or at least greatly extend it.

He is not only my PTSD dog, he is also my heart, soul and my best friend.

I will be utterly lost without him and I don't know if I can survive another terrible loss, coming so soon on the heels of the last few.

Hrafi came hereJune 16, 2017, after my last PTSD dog, Bubby, suddenly died May 6, 2017 and it's only been in the last year or so that I have stopped grieving for him and gotten better with the PTSD.

But now this horrific thing has happened to my dog...and to me.

He has a chance at being helped but that chance is far beyond my meager means.

Please help in any way you can, whether it be donations or prayers.

Words are inadequate for the gratitude I feel for all your help.

Thank you,

Shari & Hrafi

God bless everyone who has given to help my boy survive this, somehow!

Every time a donation comes in, I cry more, but happy, grateful tears!

Some have asked for a PayPal link instead so it's Cold.Djinn@gmail.com for direct donations.

You can also reach me directly at that address.

I just don't have the words to express my gratitude!

As one donor said, GO HRAFI!!!!

So many 'anonymous' people have given so much and I don't know how to thank them so I will do it here.


Thank you all SO much and God bless each and every one of you!


August update:


Allegdly he now has a pathological fracture but some people see it and others don't.

One exceptional vet said it was a "hairline fracture" and not to take his leg.

Instead, we're going to an orthopedic vet in September to try and find a solution to stabilize that leg, which he still uses, despite having an intermittent "not terrible" limp.

His hock is functional even though that is where the tumor was so I wonder if it's not his foot or some kind of neurological side effect from the SRT radiation treatments.

His oncology vet totally ignored my constant questions about "why he limps" when she always said he was "not painful upon exam".

Something is NOT right and she must have missed it.

Seems odd that the heavy pain meds she gave him have utterly no effect on the limp which makes me wonder if it's not "mechanical" or neurological.

I will NOT give up on my baby boy and we need support and prayers for this next phase with the ortho vets.

He is otherwise doing great.

I wish I was in such good shape as this is breaking me.

Thank you all for the support, donations and prayers.

Go Hrafi!!!

 




UPDATES

January 5, almost one year
January 5, 2023
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January 6 marks the day I found the bump on his hock and January 7, the heart-breaking day he was formally diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

It's been a long,  soul crushing journey but thank God and all of you, he is still with me and doing well, so far.

Soon I imagine they'll be checking his lungs for spread and that terrifies me and I pray there has been no spread to *anywhere* in the rest of his body.

After he healed from the October 3 amputation, he was given Palladia which is an oral chemotherapy pill, which he took for a month.

His checkup after the month showed "protein in his urine" as well as blood cells so the vet stopped the Palladia treatment for a month and that is where we are now, waiting for his next checkup to see if he can resume the Palladia or not.

His interdigital cyst issue has flared up and is not resolving quickly like it always, and I worry that the Palladia compromised his immune system enough to allow the issue to be harder to fix.

This is added stress and worry, for sure.

But he is still happy, playing and eating like horse so I am grateful for that.

At the beginning of this, I looked at the treatment estimates given to me, factored in his insurance coverage and made a guess at how much to ask for but I was woefully short.

Trupanion, bless their hearts, have so far dropped probably close to $60K on him and never once complained or threatened to stop his health insurance.

Quite the opposite, they have always been kind and tell me to never worry about that happening, ever.

 That adds a double edged sword aspect to all of this.

He has survived much longer than the first vet thought he would and seems to show no signs of slowing down yet but that also brings in the money issue.

It's getting incredibly tight here for us and I have put the last thing I have of any value up for sale, which is my motorcycle but so far, no one has even made an offer.

Cold weather, rough economy, just bad timing, I reckon.

Christmas was pretty much only the gift of having my boy still here, despite losing the leg, after all and for that, I am wildly grateful to everyone who prayed, donated or did both.

He is all I wanted for Christmas, and I am blessed that he is still here.

Please pray that his good fortune continues and that he has no spread and maybe toss in a prayer for me, because honestly, this has been such a nightmare that he's in relatively much better shape than I am.

Also, pray that someone buys the bike because I owe more than I have and I am terrified that I won't have enough to keep him going for as long as he can, given his current hopeful condition.

God bless each and every one of you for being there for both of us.


Shari & Hrafi



Today is chemo day...again.
November 9, 2022
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Please pray for us as we start chemo again.

Please pray that it has not spread, and that nothing has gotten even worse than it already is.

Please pray that I can hold myself together, for his sake, as I'm having a very hard time coping.

Thank all of you angels and God bless.




Changed his chemo appt. to Nov 9
November 5, 2022
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It was just too heartbreaking to go through it on the 1 year anniversary of his sister Seven dropping dead.

Superstition or fear, either way.

Couldn't bear it.

Scary date coming up.
November 1, 2022
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November 7, the one year anniversary of his sister Seven suddenly dropping dead, is his appointment.

Raging anxiety over that "coincidence".

More chemotherapy for him.

Praying God...no BEGGING God it has not spread and he will live a long time.

So terrified of our future together I can hardly function anymore.

Please pray that my baby boy will be one of the Lucky Ones.



Oncology visits, again
October 25, 2022
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Hrafi will be going back to Gaithersburg soon for a recheck and probably more chemotherapy.
I have to keep trying.
It feels like an angry, restless hedgehog is living in my stomach, now.
Please pray that all of this will help him to live as long as he can.

At a loss for words.
October 25, 2022
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So many have shown such kindness and generosity to a person they;ve never met and a dog they don't even know.

They say everything has a reason.

I wonder now if the reason for this terrible thing is to change my heart.

Since I was a kid, people who should have protected me instead failed me atrociously and I lost my faith in humans.

But this nightmare has changed all that.

So many kind souls giving so much for a "stranger" and her dog has just wrecked my former cynical paradigm.

Angels, all of you and like angels, I may not ever see you in person but I know you're all out there, watching over us.

I wish had the perfect words to express my boundless gratitude and love for all of you.

"Thank you" seems so inadequate for all you have done for me and my beloved dog.

I am just humbled by all of you.

God bless you all, each and every one.


Shari & Hrafi


October brings amputation :(
October 24, 2022
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updateImage
So I talked to his surgeon today and it's osteosarcoma but said something like not "super aggressive".
My misery is that the biopsy showed live cancer cells in the primary tumor that SHOULD have been, as I would told, be killed by the SRT.
We could be facing more chemo after all of this hell and now the amputation.
How did cancer survive the SRT???
All this money spent has broken me, not to mention the emotional cost and I'm no further ahead than when it all began??
I just don't get it.
I did the SRT because it was supposed to KILL the tumor but obviously did not.
Just broken.
I have little left to sell but I NEED to keep trying.
He is still happy twirling and hungry as a horse, all good signs.
Trying to adapt to a missing leg as best he can.
I cannot give up on him.
He is my most precious thing and really all I have.
Every little bit helps and I have Care Credit debts that are terrifying and now we face more chemo, which about $4-5K.
Please pray, if nothing else!

Shari

October brings amputation :(
October 24, 2022
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updateImage
So I talked to his surgeon today and it's osteosarcoma but said something like not "super aggressive".
My misery is that the biopsy showed live cancer cells in the primary tumor that SHOULD have been, as I would told, be killed by the SRT.
We could be facing more chemo after all of this hell and now the amputation.
How did cancer survive the SRT???
All this money spent has broken me, not to mention the emotional cost and I'm no further ahead than when it all began??
I just don't get it.
I did the SRT because it was supposed to KILL the tumor but obviously did not.
Just broken.
I have little left to sell but I NEED to keep trying.
He is still happy twirling and hungry as a horse, all good signs.
Trying to adapt to a missing leg as best he can.
I cannot give up on him.
He is my most precious thing and really all I have.
Every little bit helps and I have Care Credit debts that are terrifying and now we face more chemo, which about $4-5K.
Please pray, if nothing else!

Shari

What you are helping him with, all of you
September 18, 2022
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updateImage

Despite going right into the wall for him, the SRT was not enough and now his hock is basically "eggshell surrounding mush".

As hard as I tried to avoid amputation, it has become impossible now and this is why.

Yet he is still his joyous self, with this horror show of a hock.

Hrafi at the surgeon's clinic



An angel just made me cry.
September 18, 2022
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That last donation has me in tears of gratitude.


God bless you and thank you!!!!!!!!

This update sucks
September 18, 2022
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Despite doing every cutting edge vet technique, he has a pathological fracture now and amputation is inevitable.

To say this is gutting me is an understatement.


His lungs are still clear, he's still happy and bouncy and doing well and eating like a hod so he probably has a good chance at living a good life for a good amount of time.

However, the copays and uncovered consults have decimated what money I had.

I just paid a $300 consult to his orthopedic surgeon and the estimate is around $4200.

His vets think he's doing very well, considering and has a good chance at being a "successful" tripod.

I have exhausted every other option for the sake of the love in his eyes and his general joyous attitude, but I have also exhausted all the things I had to sell, to keep here as long as he can be.

Please, if you can find it in your hearts, and forgive me for constantly begging, please donate whatever you can spare.

In a wretched life, he is my one bit of happiness and I have no idea how I will cope if I lose that.

And please pray for him...and for me.


Shari




August update
August 27, 2022
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August update:


Allegdly he now has a pathological fracture but some people see it and others don't.

One exceptional vet said it was a "hairline fracture" and not to take his leg.

Instead, we're going to an orthopedic vet in September to try and find a solution to stabilize that leg, which he still uses, despite having an intermittent "not terrible" limp.

His hock is functional even though that is where the tumor was so I wonder if it's not his foot or some kind of neurological side effect from the SRT radiation treatments.

His oncology vet totally ignored my constant questions about "why he limps" when she always said he was "not painful upon exam".

Something is NOT right and she must have missed it.

Seems odd that the heavy pain meds she gave him have utterly no effect on the limp which makes me wonder if it's not "mechanical" or neurological.

I will NOT give up on my baby boy and we need support and prayers for this next phase with the ortho vets.

He is otherwise doing great.

I wish I was in such good shape as this is breaking me.

Thank you all for the support, donations and prayers.

Go Hrafi!!!

August update
August 27, 2022
facebook X

August update:


Allegdly he now has a pathological fracture but some people see it and others don't.

One exceptional vet said it was a "hairline fracture" and not to take his leg.

Instead, we're going to an orthopedic vet in September to try and find a solution to stabilize that leg, which he still uses, despite having an intermittent "not terrible" limp.

His hock is functional even though that is where the tumor was so I wonder if it's not his foot or some kind of neurological side effect from the SRT radiation treatments.

His oncology vet totally ignored my constant questions about "why he limps" when she always said he was "not painful upon exam".

Something is NOT right and she must have missed it.

Seems odd that the heavy pain meds she gave him have utterly no effect on the limp which makes me wonder if it's not "mechanical" or neurological.

I will NOT give up on my baby boy and we need support and prayers for this next phase with the ortho vets.

He is otherwise doing great.

I wish I was in such good shape as this is breaking me.

Thank you all for the support, donations and prayers.

Go Hrafi!!!

Update #5
May 21, 2022
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Update #3
May 19, 2022, 5:43 pm

Tuesday, May 17, Hrafi went for his chemo and lung x-rays to see if his cancer has spread.

THE XRAYS WERE CLEAR!!!!!!

God bless each and every one of you for your prayers and support and praise God and thank Jesus!!!!!

Update #4
April 20, 2022
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updateImage

April 16, he had his 5th birthday.

It was not the usual "go out and visit every Hrafi fan" or even trips to the pet store, due to the fear of pathological fracture occurring.

He does favor that leg now and I'm praying that it's just a side effect from the SRT as  he did have some "burns" and swelling from that, which is supposedly "normal".

[hope against hope that's all it is!!!]


He spent the day eating special food greedily and playing with the toy I picked up for him.

[photos below]

Still going for his chem and zolendrate bone strengthening infusions.

Gas is soaring now that our "tax holiday" is over.


He has an upcoming x-ray to see if the cancer has spread to his lungs.


Petition heaven with prayers that it has NOT, please!


Thank you all and may God bless every one of you!


Shari & Hrafi



Update #2
March 22, 2022
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Hrafi has completed his 3 stereotactic radiation treatments and one chemo treatment, so far.

He is going for his second bone building infusion and CBC to check his white cell counts on the 22nd.


His hock is inflamed and sore from \\\'radiation burn\\\' which is a rare thing so naturally he got it.

We just cannot catch a break.

:(


Really hoping and praying it can be managed and cleared up because the only cure for it otherwise is amputation and we\\\'ve gone through all this avoid that.


I am REALLY grateful for the prayers and donations.


He is my life and my love and I am nowhere near ready to lose him.


Begging God that that will not come for a very long time.


Update #2
March 22, 2022
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Hrafi has completed his 3 stereotactic radiation treatments and one chemo treatment, so far.

He is going for his second bone building infusion and CBC to check his white cell counts on the 22nd.


His hock is inflamed and sore from \\\'radiation burn\\\' which is a rare thing so naturally he got it.

We just cannot catch a break.

:(


Really hoping and praying it can be managed and cleared up because the only cure for it otherwise is amputation and we\\\'ve gone through all this avoid that.


I am REALLY grateful for the prayers and donations.


He is my life and my love and I am nowhere near ready to lose him.


Begging God that that will not come for a very long time.


Update #1
February 18, 2022
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We have a new oncologists and in a miracle, Hrafi is in love with these people and not freaking out like he always did, before.

His insurance is not covering consultations or the obscene gas prices we pay to get him back and forth.

However, they are willing to go to the wall for him, as I have prayed somebody, somewhere, would do.


Gonna be a lot of trips but it\'s his best chance at having a good and decent life, for however long he lives.


I have no words to express the incredible gratitude I have for ALL of the people who have given so wonderfully, just to save my beloved baby boy.


"Thank you" is just pitifully inadequate compared to what I really feel.



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