Olivia's Life Back on Track - Service Dog Fund
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Olivia is a typical teenager in many ways but unique in many more. From the moment she was born, her body began to struggle. She was born with several rare conditions and defects that impacted her entire body - right from the start. Some medical conditions were corrected with surgeries at UVA Health, but others remain a chronic battle.
While her family continues to provide exceptional support and care, Olivia still combats lifelong symptoms. Dealing with these symptoms caused her to feel "different" and isolated from her peers. It's hard enough to be a teenager, let alone a teenager that is obviously "different" from others. To further complicate her daily life and symptoms, Olivia constantly battles depression, anxiety, and ADHD - isolating her even more from her peers, family, goals and dreams. Olivia's biggest goal is to graduate high school and move on to college. She feels this goal is impossible now because she cannot remain in her classroom, socialize, or make connections with the outside world.
Now, after all of the surgeries, therapies, medications, and more, we're asking for your help. Her medical team has approved Olivia to add a service dog to her medical treatment plan. Unfortunately, service dogs come at a price. To offset some of the costs, we're raising funds to get Olivia back on track with life!
How Funds will be Used:
- Finding a well-bred suitable dog for training
- Basic, intermediate, and advanced obedience training
- Training the dog in medical tasks that save Olivia
- Training the dog how to behave and task in public settings
Olivia's service dog will be training with Brittany Naquin, owner and trainer of Cosmic Dog Training and Baseline Canine Services. While the training companies are located in Louisiana, this allows her future service dog prospect (potential service dog) to have access to Olivia's local family as a support system to remain a positive role in the dog's training journey. It also provides Olivia more adequate opportunities to connect with the prospect by having access to housing when visiting to train with her service dog.
Olivia's Medical Conditions:
- Double Outlet Right Ventricle: Two major arteries are pumping into the same chamber of her heart, meaning other parts of her body receive too much or too little blood flow.
- Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect: A large hole in her heart causes it to work too hard and can lead to heart failure.
- Heterotaxy: Her internal organs are not organized where they're supposed to be, which causes complications with various other organs.
- Polysplenia: She has multiple smaller spleens than her normal-sized singular spleen, which don't work.
- Intestinal Malrotation: Her intestines aren't coiled into her abdomen and cause blockages.
- Interrupted Aortic Arch, Type B: Olivia's heart was missing part of the aortic arch, which complicates pumping blood to appropriate body parts. The missing piece has been successfully reconstructed!
- Interruption of the inferior vena cava (IVC) with azygos continuation: A rare condition where the IVC (the artery that brings the blood from other areas of the body back up to the heart to be pumped into the lungs for oxygen) isn't connected the right way.
- Depression
- Anxiety
- ADHD
Fundraising team (3)
Brittany Naquin
Organizer
Slidell, LA
Kelly Sigur
Team member
Kristi Carle
Team member