A new leash on life
Donation protected
I said goodbye to my life as I wanted it to be, and hello to a life of wishing I coulds
It was a year and a half ago, I was getting ready for work, feeling great. The day before I had been out kayaking, and later that same night I was on the treadmill for an hour. I woke up the next morning, fixed myself a green smoothy, took my vitamins, finished getting ready for work, I was a certified pharmacy technician, loved my job and was enjoying a healthy and active lifestyle. But then suddenly, tiny shocks started down my left cheek and then down my arm and I dropped the hairbrush into the sink and said goodbye to my life as I wished it to be, and said hello to a life of only wishing I coulds.
My biggest regret will always be that my children had to suffer - no mother wants to be the cause of their children's tears
The docs said it was a brain bleed, my poor kids lived through hours of hell waiting to see if the brain surgeon on standby would be needed. Fortunately he wasn't, but the damage to my brain had been extensive, it was as if you drew a line right down my center, I was a hemiplegic, everything on my left side had been left paralyzed, life in a wheelchair began, but I was left with hope when I was told months, or possibly years of intense therapy could get me out of this wheelchair, I nodded and said, "sign me up!"
Two steps forward, one step back
This past year and a half hasn't been easy, for me, or my loved ones. And I have tried, but it's always something, infections, cracked bones, new therapies, dislocated shoulder, leg braces, different leg braces, new treatments, new doctors...yet, here I am, still in a wheelchair!
One of the main reasons my therapy progress is starting to regress is because I have fallen a few times in the past year, and I just can not get up off the floor by myself and it's very scary, and it hurts, sometimes a lot. I don't want to fall again, I've become a big baby and am afraid to walk until someone is by my side, that can sometimes mean hours or even days in between my walks.
Man's best friend, for so many reasons
And then one day I watched a familiar stroke victim at therapy with her new service dog; she was walking so much better than before, she had her confidence back and was grinning from ear-to-ear. I had to know why and chased that woman down to listen to her story about mobility dogs and all the things they can do for you, best of all how they can brace your legs with their body to keep you from falling, or if you do fall, they can actually help you get back up, she said her life had changed over night. I have spent six months researching these dogs and trying to talk my insurance into helping me with the high costs that come with these dogs due to all the specialized boarding and care, hundreds and hundreds of hours of very specialized training that can actually take anywhere from one to four years, and then the daily boarding and care, any veterinary care, plus the cost of a puppy...it all leads up to a cost of $30,000.00 or even more.
My best friend is waiting
Fortunatly, I have found the Dog Knowledge Service Dog Foundation in North Carolina and they have a wonderful male pup that has already gone through his Elementary training and is showing great potential toward becoming a mobility service dog. Best of all, since he is at the facility already and his training has began already, I could potentially fly out and work with this pup through the mobility specialized steps and if we do well together as a team, he could come home with me in as little as six months from now, dramatically cutting the total cost down by two thirds to less than $9,000 plus my airfares. I dont want to lose this wonderful opportunity to get this pup...but I've hit the financial brick wall.
I've totally run out of options, I have zero left in my bank account, all 401Ks are even gone and I can not ask any more of my loved ones than what they have already sacrificed as well - their time spent on travel, time off from work, their help with constant medical bills, airfare, transportion, etc, etc., etc., I have been such a burden...the only way I can ever pay them back is to walk again...I have to.
I've found a way to stand on my own two feet now, but I really need help taking that first step, please? And thank you so much!
It was a year and a half ago, I was getting ready for work, feeling great. The day before I had been out kayaking, and later that same night I was on the treadmill for an hour. I woke up the next morning, fixed myself a green smoothy, took my vitamins, finished getting ready for work, I was a certified pharmacy technician, loved my job and was enjoying a healthy and active lifestyle. But then suddenly, tiny shocks started down my left cheek and then down my arm and I dropped the hairbrush into the sink and said goodbye to my life as I wished it to be, and said hello to a life of only wishing I coulds.
My biggest regret will always be that my children had to suffer - no mother wants to be the cause of their children's tears
The docs said it was a brain bleed, my poor kids lived through hours of hell waiting to see if the brain surgeon on standby would be needed. Fortunately he wasn't, but the damage to my brain had been extensive, it was as if you drew a line right down my center, I was a hemiplegic, everything on my left side had been left paralyzed, life in a wheelchair began, but I was left with hope when I was told months, or possibly years of intense therapy could get me out of this wheelchair, I nodded and said, "sign me up!"
Two steps forward, one step back
This past year and a half hasn't been easy, for me, or my loved ones. And I have tried, but it's always something, infections, cracked bones, new therapies, dislocated shoulder, leg braces, different leg braces, new treatments, new doctors...yet, here I am, still in a wheelchair!
One of the main reasons my therapy progress is starting to regress is because I have fallen a few times in the past year, and I just can not get up off the floor by myself and it's very scary, and it hurts, sometimes a lot. I don't want to fall again, I've become a big baby and am afraid to walk until someone is by my side, that can sometimes mean hours or even days in between my walks.
Man's best friend, for so many reasons
And then one day I watched a familiar stroke victim at therapy with her new service dog; she was walking so much better than before, she had her confidence back and was grinning from ear-to-ear. I had to know why and chased that woman down to listen to her story about mobility dogs and all the things they can do for you, best of all how they can brace your legs with their body to keep you from falling, or if you do fall, they can actually help you get back up, she said her life had changed over night. I have spent six months researching these dogs and trying to talk my insurance into helping me with the high costs that come with these dogs due to all the specialized boarding and care, hundreds and hundreds of hours of very specialized training that can actually take anywhere from one to four years, and then the daily boarding and care, any veterinary care, plus the cost of a puppy...it all leads up to a cost of $30,000.00 or even more.
My best friend is waiting
Fortunatly, I have found the Dog Knowledge Service Dog Foundation in North Carolina and they have a wonderful male pup that has already gone through his Elementary training and is showing great potential toward becoming a mobility service dog. Best of all, since he is at the facility already and his training has began already, I could potentially fly out and work with this pup through the mobility specialized steps and if we do well together as a team, he could come home with me in as little as six months from now, dramatically cutting the total cost down by two thirds to less than $9,000 plus my airfares. I dont want to lose this wonderful opportunity to get this pup...but I've hit the financial brick wall.
I've totally run out of options, I have zero left in my bank account, all 401Ks are even gone and I can not ask any more of my loved ones than what they have already sacrificed as well - their time spent on travel, time off from work, their help with constant medical bills, airfare, transportion, etc, etc., etc., I have been such a burden...the only way I can ever pay them back is to walk again...I have to.
I've found a way to stand on my own two feet now, but I really need help taking that first step, please? And thank you so much!
Organizer
Cinde Alexander
Organizer
Winterset, IA