A Service Dog For Ryleigh

Hello! My name is Ryleigh and I am fundraising for a service dog. I was born with a genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, EDS is caused by a flaw in the way the body makes collagen and affects just about every system in the body including the joints, skin and autonomic nervous system. For most of my life I was just a bit 'bendy' but my life turned upside-down in 2017,  my EDS was pretty mild for many years but last year it took a very severe turn. I now live with painful daily joint dislocations, a paralyzed stomach that has left me dependent on a feeding tube, fainting spells caused by low blood pressure and constant fatigue among many other things. A service dog will give me back some of the independence that my conditions have robbed me of, the dog will be trained for mobility assistance, heart rate alert and PTSD support. Having mobility assistance will help me with balance, forward momentum,  getting up and down off the ground before/after fainting (or near fainting) spells and retrieving items like medications for me. These tasks are especially helpful for days when I have painful hip, or knee dislocations that make it hard to move around on my own. Having a dog that can alert me to high heart rate will make it so I can leave the house on my own, one of the conditions I have that is caused by EDS causes my heart rate to skyrocket, my blood pressure to drop and makes me pass out. I currently cannot go to the grocery store on my own because I live in fear that I'll pass out in the store, having a service dog who can alert me when my heart rate skyrockets will give me time to get to a sitting position before passing out/ get my heart rate to a safer place. One of the biggest tasks that a service dog will assist me with is PTSD support, having had 20 surgeries and 6 years of chronic pain I have developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that is heavily triggered by medical establishments like doctors offices and hospitals. My PTSD is to a point where I cannot go to appointments on my own without awful anxiety and panic attacks, I currently have to find someone to come with me every time I have an appointment so having a service dog trained for anxiety support will allow me to go to appointments by myself again.  These tasks are just a few of the ways a service dog will help me, the emotional and physical support and love a dog has to give will make a huge difference in my life. Unfortunately the process of getting a service dog is very long and quite expensive, I will be going through a local dog trainer to adopt a dog and then I will be working with the trainer to teach my dog to do these tasks to assist me. Any donation big or small will get me closer to living a more independent life with a long term companion.