Julie's Rally Against Cancer
Donation protected
My name is Julie, and I am fundraising for a Hearing and Mobility Service Dog. I have had a brain tumor for 15 years, that affects hearing and balance as it grows, and I am now quickly going deaf. I also have a form of epilepsy, which causes me to have seizures and severely limits my mobility. I need a service dog to provide me with safety, independence, and confidence I could not otherwise enjoy.
My story begins in 1996 when I was thirty-four years old. I was engaged to a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. We were both working the midnight shift at Walmart, and I was as healthy as a horse – I could throw a five-pound bag of dog food like it was a can of coke. However, that soon changed.
One of our co-workers was studying to be a zoologist, and he went to Africa for a study mission. He came back sick with an African strain of the Epstein-Barr Virus, and I caught it from him. Although he got over it quickly, as if it were a cold, I ended up in the hospital for 10 days. It infected my spine with viral encephalitis, which left me with epilepsy/seizures. I had to use a wheelchair and was told I might never walk again – I did, however, manage to fight my way out of the wheelchair, and need only crutches, which I still use today.
After my illness, my relationship with the Naval Officer ended badly, and I moved to Tennessee. While there, I met my husband of 17 years on AOL IM, and soon moved to North Carolina to be with him. We have had one adventure after another moving around for his job.
In 1997, I met my first service dog, Tagert, a seizure alert dog. A deaf friend, with a hearing dog, told me about them. Seizure alert dogs help people with epilepsy by helping to sit down if having a seizure, breaking a fall if necessary, alerting other people, and getting them out of dangerous situations during a seizure. Tagert and I were together for eight years until he passed away at nine years of age.
My health took an even worse turn in 2002, while I was still with Tagert. While having an MRI to see how my seizures were doing, the doctor found and Acoustic Neuroma brain tumor on the cranial nerve – a tumor that takes your hearing and balances gradually as it grows.
Shortly after Tagert died, in late 2007, I met Rocky. A friend who owned a service dog business trained him for me. We have been together for eight-and-a-half years, but he will be ten years old in October and has had to retire due to age and arthritis.
Now, I am fundraising for a new Hearing and Mobility Service Dog to replace Rocky. The money I am asking for funding includes the cost for a new puppy from a breeder and the training.
Thank you!
My story begins in 1996 when I was thirty-four years old. I was engaged to a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. We were both working the midnight shift at Walmart, and I was as healthy as a horse – I could throw a five-pound bag of dog food like it was a can of coke. However, that soon changed.
One of our co-workers was studying to be a zoologist, and he went to Africa for a study mission. He came back sick with an African strain of the Epstein-Barr Virus, and I caught it from him. Although he got over it quickly, as if it were a cold, I ended up in the hospital for 10 days. It infected my spine with viral encephalitis, which left me with epilepsy/seizures. I had to use a wheelchair and was told I might never walk again – I did, however, manage to fight my way out of the wheelchair, and need only crutches, which I still use today.
After my illness, my relationship with the Naval Officer ended badly, and I moved to Tennessee. While there, I met my husband of 17 years on AOL IM, and soon moved to North Carolina to be with him. We have had one adventure after another moving around for his job.
In 1997, I met my first service dog, Tagert, a seizure alert dog. A deaf friend, with a hearing dog, told me about them. Seizure alert dogs help people with epilepsy by helping to sit down if having a seizure, breaking a fall if necessary, alerting other people, and getting them out of dangerous situations during a seizure. Tagert and I were together for eight years until he passed away at nine years of age.
My health took an even worse turn in 2002, while I was still with Tagert. While having an MRI to see how my seizures were doing, the doctor found and Acoustic Neuroma brain tumor on the cranial nerve – a tumor that takes your hearing and balances gradually as it grows.
Shortly after Tagert died, in late 2007, I met Rocky. A friend who owned a service dog business trained him for me. We have been together for eight-and-a-half years, but he will be ten years old in October and has had to retire due to age and arthritis.
Now, I am fundraising for a new Hearing and Mobility Service Dog to replace Rocky. The money I am asking for funding includes the cost for a new puppy from a breeder and the training.
Thank you!
Organizer
Julie Ann Saulsgiver Wall
Organizer
Lenow, TN
