November 10- A breakthrough!

Dear Friends of Maisie,

Thank you all again for your incredible support, love, and inspiration during this difficult journey. Your contributions are truly what have sustained me through these past weeks.

As you know from my last update, the initial CT scan led the first clinic to rule out surgery, leaving us with very limited and uncertain options. I was prescribed metronomic chemotherapy, but the honest feedback was that it was hard to say how much it would help, if at all.

It’s been difficult to reconcile that bleak prognosis with Maisie’s beautiful reality. Every day, she is her beloved and sweet self; purring, often watching me, following me around, exploring the garden (even as the days get cold), and continuing life with me as if everything is wonderful. Living daily with the reality of a terrible diagnosis while watching her act so normal has been a heart-breaking and heavy burden that I don't believe I can accurately convey.

That’s when I realized I could not simply accept one 'no' when the situation felt contradictory and stakes were so high. I was concerned the analyzing doctor hadn't fully factored in Maisie's history of bronchitis and asthma, meaning her lungs weren't expected to appear 'normal' on the CT scan anyway. I decided my most important new direction was to seek another opinion on her CT scan and whether surgery could still be possible, as I kept hearing it is the main treatment option for this type of tumor.

Seeking that second opinion was a difficult process that took all of last week, and much longer than hoped to receive the CT scan pictures from the original clinic. But finally, I received them and was able to make contact with another clinic whose surgeons agreed to look at the scans.

Then, this morning I received a call from a surgeon!

He reviewed the scans and believes we should proceed with surgery! He may perform a simplified version of a CT briefly beforehand to ensure no metastasis, however he feels that the lung opacities seen are indeed a result of her chronic bronchitis/asthma history, not metastasis! He even mentioned a simpler surgery technique based on what he saw, potentially doing the procedure through the ribs in about 30 minutes, which should cause little to no pain during recovery.

He was ready to operate today, but unfortunately there was no availability among the anesthesia team. Maisie is now scheduled for the next available appointment on November 18th.

Finding this wonderful surgeon who has offered new hope for Maisie feels like a miracle! Now is the time not to give up, but to believe all the more! Please pray and believe with me that either an opening in the surgery schedule will appear sooner than the 18th, or that there will be no metastasis before then.

I've already spent far beyond the amount earned for Maisie's GoFundMe on the diagnostics, emergency hospital stay, and brief chemotherapy attempt. Now, I must continue fundraising for the surgery itself.

Your continued belief and support means so much. If you can pass this campaign to anyone you know, I would be so grateful. I trust that the timing, the funding, and everything else is perfectly in God’s hands.

You have each made a significant difference. While this may seem small compared to the world's problems, I promise that your heart for this cause has made a profound impact on me. In the end, I believe it's the heart behind the action that truly defines its worth anyway.

Thank you each one of you for being a light in Maisie's and my life!

Best wishes,

Elizabeth