Oaklyn’s Service Dog

Many of you have followed Oaklyn's medical journey the last four years. She has been to many doctors and therapists, enduring countless procedures along the way as her total medical visits top 200 trips. In the past year, her anxiety has gotten worse. She tenses up and acts out when she realizes where she is heading. Things have gotten out of hand the last 6 months. When Oaklyn is overwhelmed, she turns to self-harm and harming others by biting, hitting, pulling hair or banging her head.

Oaklyn's anxiety is making it harder and harder for doctors to examine her and do what they need to do. Just Friday (9/30/22), she went to the cardiologist for her one-year follow-up and the radiologist was unable to get the images needed to check her VSD patch, pulmonary artery and its blood flow, forcing him to order a sedated echocardiogram. At this point, virtually every specialist (endocrinologist, nephrologist, epidemiologist and now cardiologist) need her sedated to do scans and lab work.

As a result, I have started a GoFundMe page to get Oaklyn a service dog to assist her emotionally, enabling her to feel calm and safe when she has these doctor visits. A service dog will also provide medical assistance, aiding stability in Oaklyn's walking, particularly when changing levels (e.g., walking through a doorway, stepping up on a sidewalk, climbing stairs or even stepping over a toy or stick) or alerting us when her blood pressure is too high. The service dog can also ease sensory overstimulation.

The funds will go to:

Thank you for your financial support as well as the prayers and kind words. They are all very well appreciated by this single mom.