Next week we will be making an appointment with the surgeon for a surgical consult. This one we have to pay for, unlike the surgical consult at the SPCA. I'm not sure why when they have already given us 2 written surgical estimates. Sometimes I think places like this take advantage of the emotional moment to overcharge. I don't know if that is the case here or not, I just know it feels like a lot of charges. I try to put that out of my mind, even if I am right it won't do me any good to waste precious time complaining too much about it right now. I want to put all of my energy into raising the money to get this surgery, THAT is my priority at this moment.
The good news is we are making some progress in the fundraising! So far, as of this moment we are at $1030.00!! $500 of that amount is a pledge from The Mosby Foundation, it will expire if we can't raise enough to use it within 60 days. I have been submitting applications to every single charity agency that I can find. Sadly, many stated on their website that they had no funds available and 3 places I applied have responded they have no funds to help at the moment. The Mosby Foundation responded within just a few days with their pledge, which inspired me and gave me some hope. I have application in with and am waiting for responses from 6 other charities.
Some of the cash donations so far have gone towards paying for the appointments, medications and supplies we have already accessed. What we have left is enough to pay for the appointment tomorrow and the appointment with the surgeon next week. Each of those appointments cost $140 plus any medications they might prescribe. Depending on the cost of drugs we should have enough for that as well. I know I have enough to cover a prednisone refill if they order one. ($22, it is thankfully a cheap drug at least.)
There are some things that the charity grants won't cover, so raising enough cash for them is going to be vital. The most urgent thing we need to pay for with cash is an ultrasound because they want to do that before doing surgery. The ultrasound will tell them if her cancer has spread to her internal organs or not. If it has spread, surgery won't do much good. With the latest estimates they included an estimate for the pre-surgery testing and supplies needed and that comes to almost another 2 grand. I think I will need to raise my fundraising goal, again. (I only estimated surgery, doctor visit bills and medicines into my goal, I didn't realize there would be so many other charges before we could even get to the surgery!)
Since our last appointment and increase in a couple of her medications Pheona has been extremely lethargic and incontinent again. We have tried taking her to the park, but she has no interest in doing anything, except eating. Prednisone causes a huge increase in appetite. She spends all of her time sleeping, or searching for crumbs to eat. The vet advised us strongly not to give in and feed her more because it will complicate things if she is overweight. We have broken her day's food into 3 meal times for her rather than 2, but she still thinks she is starving. I feel so bad for her but have to stay strong. We are trying to stay optimistic and upbeat. Some days it is easier said than done.
After the vet appointment tomorrow we are planning to have a baking and poster making date with a friend and her daughter this weekend. We live right near a major public transportation stop in a large city and are going to have a little bake sale in the area. I am really looking forward to making some cookies and painting with friends. (She is an amazing friend who has been helping me with so much of this I couldn't even begin to thank her enough.)
Check back soon for updates on our visit with Dr. Kidd tomorrow and our bake sale this weekend!
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