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Help Kaia Walk Again: MRI & Surgery Fund

Help Kaia Walk Again: MRI & Surgery Fund

Fundraising for

Nicole Gamez

Fundraising forNicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Nicole Gamez

Burlington, Massachusetts

$2,275of $10,500 goal
54
Donors
22
Comments
11Share Arrow
Shares
Donation protected
👍 0% fee

On the afternoon of August 2nd our beloved dog Kaia J was acting strange. Unbeknownst to us it was severe pain. Within hours she was limping. Then unable to walk at all. Her rear legs became limp, she looked confused, sad, helpless. All of this happened within an 8 hour period. We are still trying to wrap our heads around this. The neurology team evaluated Kaia and said that based on their assessment she will most likely never regain motor function of her rear legs again. Her front right leg is weak as well; her rear legs completely paralyzed currently. What we do know is there is some sort of lesion on her spine. A lesion is anything, cyst, tumor, infection, that is compressing on the spinal nerves. Today they performed x-rays to rule out any METs on her lungs before moving onto an MRI. If she had cancer in her lungs that metastasized then obviously we wouldn't talk about an MRI and we would go a different course. All that to say, the x-ray is clear and she's currently in an MRI scan as I type this. The MRI will tell us where and what is causing her so much pain and paralysis. If the MRI findings come back that the injury is operable, I have given the go ahead to perform surgery. Surgery will give Kaia J a 50/50 chance at walking again. If things don't go the way we hope they do, Kaia will forever be paralyzed, wearing a diaper, and I will have to care for her bladder needs until she grows old. I elected for the surgery because it gives her a chance. If I didn't elect for surgery or the MRI, then the chances of her walking again at all were less than 50% and I couldn't live with making that choice. Ever. She has been my baby for over 9 years. She was there when I became a mother. She is in every memory and in every picture.

If she never walks again, what would her quality of life be? Will she be in pain? Will I have to manage her pain? For how long? Cost of diapers. Cost of a wheel chair. Time to care for her while I'm in school, working, and raising a family. This is pet ownership. This is my reality of loving my dog unconditionally. I don't expect anyone to understand it. Dog lovers and true animal lovers will though. I don't know what the future holds but I prayed to God. To give me the strength to make the best decision for Kaia. To stay strong and selfless in these decisions. I don't want her living in pain. I have no idea what is to come.

I'm asking for your help. A little or a lot. That's up to you. At the end of the day, I hold the "burden" of a $16,000 vet bill. (The MRI is $8k. If they can operate, it's estimated at $16k. I will update! I will post photos of the bill.) I maxed out one credit card and put $3k on another. I hope to balance transfer it to a 0% APR credit card and pay it off that way. Care Credit you have to pay within 12mo. Balance transfer will give me 18-21 months. If that doesn't work, there is always bankruptcy. No, for real. I'll do anything for Kaia. Anything. If the rolls were reversed today, she would do the same for me.

Thank you all,

I love you.

My support.

My army.

Now I need to head home and talk to Kaia's two favorite friends, Coda and Caleb. All the whole holding it together. We are warriors🤍

Xoxoxo

Nicole

Fundraiser Updates (4)

August 10, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Hello everyone! I wanted to share the final emergency hospital bill with everyone, this does not include her euthanasia. Unfortunately we had to let Kaia go Wednesday the 5th. She passed peacefully with Derek and I in the room with her. I'm so thankful I had 9 wonderful years of loving her and being loved by her. I will never forget all of the moments I shared with her. Watching her with my kids. Late night snuggles and early morning smooches. The butt scratches I'll miss giving her and all of the silly names I called her. The sound of her whine, bark, and the way she howled "I love youuu!". Thank you everyone for your support and the outpouring of love for Kaia J🤍

August 04, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Kaia is home. They only sent her home with gabapentin. Two of the at home end-of-life services companies aren't available until Friday or next week. I can't bear to see her like this. We are going to say our goodbyes to her at our vet tomorrow afternoon around 3:00 p.m.. Thank you everyone for everything ❤️

Vet bills were just over $9,500 plus euthanasia so I updated our donation goal. I don't expect that much AT ALL. I am just grateful for everyone's generosity, love, and support.

August 03, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

MRI update: Contrast shows meningitis or lymphoma, or both. The doctor tried to get a spinal tap with no luck. She has two separate things going on... Something going on between her C1 and T3 and something entirely different from her T3 to her Lumbar spine. It's looking like meningitis or lymphoma though. Without getting spinal fluid, it's hard to tell definitively what exactly is going on. With the medical experience the doctor has, the fact she's lost feeling in her legs already, if it's it's meningitis, the likelihood of regaining mobility of her extremities is very low. She could stay the same, get worse, but likely never get better. This would mean living with a wheelchair when outdoors, getting a device for indoor use where she can drag her legs around (however her front legs are weak and she may not ever be strong enough to do that), I would have to excrete urine from her bladder for her because female dogs cannot do this when paralyzed, this is difficult but not impossible, she would wear a diaper for stool incontinence, I would care for pressure wounds from immobility. Realistically, I'm a single mother with two young children, working, and in school full time to become an MRI Tech. This is no small feat. This is where we're at. All of this to say, they are treating her with antibiotics to see what happens tomorrow and Wednesday. We will go from there. I'm at $6,700. Each day in the hospital can be upwards of $1,200. If we have to say goodbye, which is looking likely, I'd like to take her home for a night and lay with her one last time. Saying goodbye in our home would be important to us. We will see if a miracle happens over the next two days. Thank you all for your kind and generous donations. I know we are all struggling right now so it means a lot that you would help Kaia and I.

August 03, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Estimated bill for MRI and surgery. We are still awaiting the MRI results to confirm if the lesion is operable! Could be just $8,000 for the MRI alone. Could be $16k if she has surgery to decompress her spine to regain mobility of rear legs. Xoxo

Nicole Margeson

Nicole Margeson

$20 • Recent donation

Eric Magee

Eric Magee

$200 • Top donation

Anita Kalsi

Anita Kalsi

$20 • First donation

Organizer

Nicole Gamez

Nicole Gamez is the organizer of this fundraiser

Help Kaia Walk Again: MRI & Surgery Fund
Nicole Gamez

Nicole Gamez

Burlington, Massachusetts

Fundraising for

Nicole Gamez

Fundraising forNicole Gamez
Donation protected
👍 0% fee

On the afternoon of August 2nd our beloved dog Kaia J was acting strange. Unbeknownst to us it was severe pain. Within hours she was limping. Then unable to walk at all. Her rear legs became limp, she looked confused, sad, helpless. All of this happened within an 8 hour period. We are still trying to wrap our heads around this. The neurology team evaluated Kaia and said that based on their assessment she will most likely never regain motor function of her rear legs again. Her front right leg is weak as well; her rear legs completely paralyzed currently. What we do know is there is some sort of lesion on her spine. A lesion is anything, cyst, tumor, infection, that is compressing on the spinal nerves. Today they performed x-rays to rule out any METs on her lungs before moving onto an MRI. If she had cancer in her lungs that metastasized then obviously we wouldn't talk about an MRI and we would go a different course. All that to say, the x-ray is clear and she's currently in an MRI scan as I type this. The MRI will tell us where and what is causing her so much pain and paralysis. If the MRI findings come back that the injury is operable, I have given the go ahead to perform surgery. Surgery will give Kaia J a 50/50 chance at walking again. If things don't go the way we hope they do, Kaia will forever be paralyzed, wearing a diaper, and I will have to care for her bladder needs until she grows old. I elected for the surgery because it gives her a chance. If I didn't elect for surgery or the MRI, then the chances of her walking again at all were less than 50% and I couldn't live with making that choice. Ever. She has been my baby for over 9 years. She was there when I became a mother. She is in every memory and in every picture.

If she never walks again, what would her quality of life be? Will she be in pain? Will I have to manage her pain? For how long? Cost of diapers. Cost of a wheel chair. Time to care for her while I'm in school, working, and raising a family. This is pet ownership. This is my reality of loving my dog unconditionally. I don't expect anyone to understand it. Dog lovers and true animal lovers will though. I don't know what the future holds but I prayed to God. To give me the strength to make the best decision for Kaia. To stay strong and selfless in these decisions. I don't want her living in pain. I have no idea what is to come.

I'm asking for your help. A little or a lot. That's up to you. At the end of the day, I hold the "burden" of a $16,000 vet bill. (The MRI is $8k. If they can operate, it's estimated at $16k. I will update! I will post photos of the bill.) I maxed out one credit card and put $3k on another. I hope to balance transfer it to a 0% APR credit card and pay it off that way. Care Credit you have to pay within 12mo. Balance transfer will give me 18-21 months. If that doesn't work, there is always bankruptcy. No, for real. I'll do anything for Kaia. Anything. If the rolls were reversed today, she would do the same for me.

Thank you all,

I love you.

My support.

My army.

Now I need to head home and talk to Kaia's two favorite friends, Coda and Caleb. All the whole holding it together. We are warriors🤍

Xoxoxo

Nicole

Fundraiser Updates (4)

August 10, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Hello everyone! I wanted to share the final emergency hospital bill with everyone, this does not include her euthanasia. Unfortunately we had to let Kaia go Wednesday the 5th. She passed peacefully with Derek and I in the room with her. I'm so thankful I had 9 wonderful years of loving her and being loved by her. I will never forget all of the moments I shared with her. Watching her with my kids. Late night snuggles and early morning smooches. The butt scratches I'll miss giving her and all of the silly names I called her. The sound of her whine, bark, and the way she howled "I love youuu!". Thank you everyone for your support and the outpouring of love for Kaia J🤍

August 04, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Kaia is home. They only sent her home with gabapentin. Two of the at home end-of-life services companies aren't available until Friday or next week. I can't bear to see her like this. We are going to say our goodbyes to her at our vet tomorrow afternoon around 3:00 p.m.. Thank you everyone for everything ❤️

Vet bills were just over $9,500 plus euthanasia so I updated our donation goal. I don't expect that much AT ALL. I am just grateful for everyone's generosity, love, and support.

August 03, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

MRI update: Contrast shows meningitis or lymphoma, or both. The doctor tried to get a spinal tap with no luck. She has two separate things going on... Something going on between her C1 and T3 and something entirely different from her T3 to her Lumbar spine. It's looking like meningitis or lymphoma though. Without getting spinal fluid, it's hard to tell definitively what exactly is going on. With the medical experience the doctor has, the fact she's lost feeling in her legs already, if it's it's meningitis, the likelihood of regaining mobility of her extremities is very low. She could stay the same, get worse, but likely never get better. This would mean living with a wheelchair when outdoors, getting a device for indoor use where she can drag her legs around (however her front legs are weak and she may not ever be strong enough to do that), I would have to excrete urine from her bladder for her because female dogs cannot do this when paralyzed, this is difficult but not impossible, she would wear a diaper for stool incontinence, I would care for pressure wounds from immobility. Realistically, I'm a single mother with two young children, working, and in school full time to become an MRI Tech. This is no small feat. This is where we're at. All of this to say, they are treating her with antibiotics to see what happens tomorrow and Wednesday. We will go from there. I'm at $6,700. Each day in the hospital can be upwards of $1,200. If we have to say goodbye, which is looking likely, I'd like to take her home for a night and lay with her one last time. Saying goodbye in our home would be important to us. We will see if a miracle happens over the next two days. Thank you all for your kind and generous donations. I know we are all struggling right now so it means a lot that you would help Kaia and I.

August 03, 2026
Nicole Gamez
Nicole Gamez

Estimated bill for MRI and surgery. We are still awaiting the MRI results to confirm if the lesion is operable! Could be just $8,000 for the MRI alone. Could be $16k if she has surgery to decompress her spine to regain mobility of rear legs. Xoxo

Organizer

Nicole Gamez

Nicole Gamez is the organizer of this fundraiser

$2,275of $10,500 goal
54Donors
22Comments
11Share ArrowShares
Nicole Margeson

Nicole Margeson

$20 • Recent donation

Eric Magee

Eric Magee

$200 • Top donation

Anita Kalsi

Anita Kalsi

$20 • First donation

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