Help Kerian get a service dog

Hi, my name is Kerian; I am 21 years old.

I suffered a brain injury earlier this year which left me with mobility issues that have caused me to be unable to work at the job I loved working with little ones. 

I live with PTSD, PNES (a non-epileptic seizure disorder), anxiety disorder, panic attacks, chronic pain, and mobility issues. I use mobility aids such as a cane, a walker, or a wheelchair, depending on my pain that day. I have seizure episodes daily, sometimes multiple times a day; these episodes can range from just spacing out and being unresponsive to total paralysis and collapsing with no control of my body while having uncontrollable motor tics. I have warning signs when a seizure is about to happen, but I cannot alert my partner if he is not in the same room, which puts me at significant risk. A service dog would help alert my partner that I have seizure symptoms and need assistance. The dog would also help keep me as alert as possible so I do not fall into seizures as fast and help me get my body in a safe position lying down or seated, so I do not collapse. I have not always had these seizures or mobility issues; it has only been the last year that I have struggled severely with these physical health conditions. I have struggled with my mental health conditions since I was 11 years old. The service dog would help ease the symptoms of my mental health conditions and help with my physical health conditions. I have been on medication and doing all types of therapy since I was a kid with minimal improvement; I continue to work on positive change for my mental health, and getting a service dog is a significant step in that process. I had to stop working because of my conditions and am currently on income support which only pays the bills and has nothing left over. I have looked into every charity organization, and none of them are accepting applications, and the wait lists can be years when they open up again. 

 I have worked very hard to get to this point in my life; I graduated high school in 2018, graduated from the child and youth care counsellor program in 2020 and worked in the field until my conditions reached the point where I could not anymore. Having a service dog would help give me more of a purpose and improve my overall quality of life. I will be going through paws4resiliency program here in Medicine Hat. It is $150 plus tax per training session and there is 25 weeks total of training. The total cost of the program is $6000. The money raised will go to expenses such as an adoption fee which is $500, each week's training sessions for the 25 weeks, supplies, grooming, and medical expenses. Right now I am matched with a dog named Ruth and she is currently being fostered until I can take her home. She already means the world to me and I am so excited to have her as a lifelong companion. The money fundraised is all going to Ruth and her training so she can start helping me get through these dark times of battling mental and physical illness.

Please help if you can. It would mean so much to me and help improve my quality of life while battling these illnesses. Thank you so much.

-Kerian and Ruth