Pat's Parkinson's Service Dog

Hello, My name is Mike Portsche and I created this site for my widowed mother Patricia. In the fall of 2008, Pat and her husband Gary traveled from Kansas City to Phoenix to visit their daughter Lisa. Lisa had been recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. While in Phoenix, Gary suddenly became ill and was taken by ambulance to the Mayo clinic. Gary was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given 6-8 months to live. Now Pat was faced with not only losing a daughter but a husband of 50 years as well. Within just a few short weeks, while visiting the Mayo clinic, Pat was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Gary soon passed away, in the summer of 2008, leaving her to live on a fixed income that only allows covers the bare necessities. Gary had inadequate life insurance coverage that only took care of a small amount of debt and left nothing else for Pat.

Patricia has been living in her home in Olathe, Kansas with the help of her son Mike for the past 4 years. The progressive nature of Parkinson's has made everyday subtleties increasingly more difficult to accomplish. She was just awarded approval to receive a certified service dog to help aid her with daily tasks. These magnificent "friends" are able to help with little tasks such as turning on/off lights, opening doors, and retrieving objects. They can also help with the critical task of helping maintain balance when walking which is a common need for Parkinson's patients. This animal will also provide companionship for Pat especially in times when her mental state may be impaired due to the neurological implications of Parkinson's disease.

Pat is in dire need of any or all of the $5000.00 to obtain a working service dog. Any additional proceeds will be used to help increase Pat's quality of life by providing an array of in home therapy products that are not covered under insurance plans. I also would like to take her on the vacation of a lifetime if funding permits. She is set to attend the orientation and training sessions from June 17th-28th 2013. The payment is required in full at the end of this period. The organization Paws For Freedom in Kansas provides these highly trained Labrador dogs for service use. Their website can be viewed at www.pawsforfreedom.org This organization has been around for many years and has an impeccable track record especially in the area of training dogs for work with children who have disabilities.

Thank you for reading this and considering to donate to Pat and increasing her quality of life for the remaining years of her life. This is my mother and she is the kindest and most gentle hearted woman I know. She has always made it her priority to think of others before herself. Please help me help my mother. Thanks again.