Service Dog for Melissa

At 34 weeks pregnant with my second child, I woke up with  debilitating pain in my back due to an aortic dissection that put me in the hospital for more than 100 days. That day, my child was born via c-section and put into the immediate care of my husband. I wouldn’t recognize my daughter until she was 3 weeks old.

I was born with an extremely rare genetic mutation that causes chronic aortic aneurysms and dissections. In Layman's terms, and in my case, the veins leading to my heart split open and leaked into my body.  I went on to go through four heart surgeries and then was placed into a medically induced coma for a week. I suffered kidney failure, liver failure, and acute heart failure twice. After I was able to leave the hospital and go into rehab, I couldn’t walk, brush my hair or my teeth, or write my own name.

Rehabilitation has gotten me to the point to where I can now walk and do some daily tasks. However, many things are still extremely difficult. I have severe nerve damage on my left side that will lead to tingling and numbness and eventually cause me to collapse. I also fear being in large crowds because I easily fall. Additionally, I suffer with nightmares that continuously wake me. A service dog would be able to help me with all of these issues. The dog would be able to alert someone, and lead me to a safe place if and when I fall. They would also be able to place a boarder between me and a crowd of people, and wake me at night during my night terrors. Right now, I fear being because I might fall. A service dog will give me the independence to live a more normal life without many of the fears my condition has caused. Help me give my two children the mother they need. A service dog can provide that.