Medical Alert Service Dog Fund - For Jordan

Hey everyone, I want to first and foremost thank you for visiting this page today! My name is Jordan Byers, I’m 16 years old, and I have several disabling conditions. These include; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Severe Eosinophilic and Allergic Asthma, and Stomach Dysmotility. These are all big, long, confusing phrases that most people aren’t very familiar with, and I wasn’t either, until about a year ago when I began developing some concerning symptoms. I was an active freshman in high school at the time who enjoyed fostering kittens, showing livestock, painting, gardening, and had plans to become a doctor! I was a great student with a 4.0 GPA and I’ve always loved school, so it seemed natural to take my experiences growing up in the healthcare system with asthma and apply them to help other people!

Around December, my grades and energy levels started dropping. I could no longer tolerate being out in the heat to take care of my livestock, or even just stand for more than a few minutes without feeling sick, nauseous, and dizzy on top of a plethora of other symptoms. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I have had these seemingly random flare-ups throughout childhood that I always attributed to low blood sugar, even collapsing on a few occasions. I figured,” Meh, it’ll go away soon” and went about my business because, after all, the fair season was coming up!

After a few months, I realized these “random” symptoms weren’t so random and they definitely weren’t fading, in fact, they were getting worse. Completing my regular activities like caring for my livestock, volunteering, and schoolwork became a chore, and after a few weeks, even taking care of myself became almost impossible to do. I decided to schedule a visit with my primary care doctor, and, after reading over my symptoms, she confirmed my fears and referred me to a specialty cardiologist. After testing and endless appointments, I got my confirmed diagnosis of POTS and hEDS.

hEDS firstly is a connective tissue disorder meaning I have a faulty gene that doesn’t produce collagen (the glue holding your body together). This affects every single part of my body, inside and out, making everything very stretchy. It causes 100’s of comorbid issues including POTS. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome causes me to have about 1/3 less blood than a normal person. My veins, which are stretchy, can’t constrict to hold my blood, so whenever I stand from either lying down or sitting, I get dizzy, vertigo, lightheaded, and it can even cause me to pass out. Another condition, called Stomach Dysmotility, is caused by hEDS. Dysmotility means that something isn’t at the right speed, in this case, it’s my stomach. My stomach rapidly switches from emptying my food extremely fast to emptying it very slowly. This causes nausea, weight fluctuations, plummets in blood sugar, stomach pain, vomiting, I could go on and on. It's caused me to lose 25+ pounds in the past few months and after a recent scary admission to the hospital, I also had to have a NG or nasogastric feeding tube placed to deliver nutrients for me. 

That being said, I’ve obviously had a crazy reality shift from a “normal” active teenage girl to a girl who spends most of her days sleeping or in doctors' offices and hospitals. Being a very “take charge”, independent person, this has been a huge blow to me having to now rely on mobility aids like wheelchairs, and my own mom to help me just take care of myself, like brushing my hair. My family and I no longer feel safe leaving me alone due to the risk of sudden episodes, I mean come on, I’m 16, I should be babysitting not having to be babysat. 

The point of this whole spiel wasn’t to bore you to death, which I may have already accomplished, but to introduce my plan, and to regain my independence, a service dog! For those of you who don’t know, service dogs are especially (and expensively) trained to alert handlers to medical episodes before they even occur, sometimes even preventing them, and keeping them safe. They can also provide mobility assistance, meaning I can go where I need to, even if it isn’t wheelchair accessible, and I can finally walk around again safely! One of the biggest things for me is that this would finally allow me to go back to school. I’ve missed being able to go to in-person school, or school in general, to socialize and learn, but my conditions have obviously limited that dramatically. I could go to school with mobility assistance to help me get around, and peace of mind with the invaluable information telling me when an attack is coming. Not to mention, it would be nice to have some company and comfort during stressful hospital stays and doctor's appointments.

The donations from this GoFundMe will go towards the purchase of my puppy, the extensive training they will need for over a year, as well as the gear and supplies required. Any donations at all are appreciated, even if you made it here and read my story, I appreciate you! If you have any questions please let me know, I am passionate about raising awareness and education for these rare conditions and would love to chat with you! Even if you can't donate, if you're able to share this I would really appreciate it! Thank you again for your support!

Warm wishes,

- Jordan

Here is a link to our Amazon Wishlist if anyone would be interested in donating that way!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/10OLQ7TKDJ6K?ref_=wl_share