Assist Catherine in financing Medical Service Dog

 Hello to all!  My name is Ella Grace  and my best friend  Catherine Franzese-Hughes is in need of your help.

About Catherine:

Catherine is a psychology student at UAB in Birmingham, Alabama. She is also an adoptee in biological reunion.

At age 11, she began to exhibit troubling symptoms, first appearing as drop falls. At this time, the cause was unknown.

Later, from age 17 to 21, episodes resembling seizures began to occur, determined to be tremors of the nervous system years later. It was also during this time that she began to notice abnormalities in her gait(ataxia). The cause of these symptoms was still undetermined.

At age 29, symptoms increased in severity and frequency, with tremors becoming much like grand mal seizures, resulting in many emergency room visits (often by ambulance).

At age 29, a team of neurologists made a diagnosis of dystonia, a movement disorder, affecting Catherine's right side mainly.  Her rare Dystonia is incurable and highly untreatable.  She responds to emergency medication and brain surgery (Deep Brain Stimulation) is being considered at this time.

To make matters worse, as she is adopted, her medical history was hidden from her. An Ancestry DNA test revealed who her paternal side was. We have learned now that two aunts and an uncle have a dystonia, with one aunt requiring constant care(this aunts dystonia is most similar to Catherine’s involving the right side with severe tremors).

 

The Current Situation:

Due to the debilitating symptoms of her rare Dystonia and the constant search for better healthcare, attending university and finishing her degree has become near impossible due to accommodation issues( inaccessibility) and serious physical limitations.

 

Living arrangements have had to be rethought and many new accommodations at home have been put in place to make everyday life more manageable.

Doctors believe a service dog who does medical alert and mobility work would make many of these day-to-day tasks possible, and would put Catherine on a path to pursuing her future endeavors successfully at University where she is 4 classes away from her degree. Catherine’s goals are to work in therapies assisting other individuals and possibly doing research on specific populations who could benefit from those therapies.

 

Meet Lincoln!

Lincoln is a Black Labrador who is currently being raised and trained by Precision K9 , a service dog training program. Lincoln was bought by Precision K9 from a Veteran’s Program named United States Veteran Service Dogs. It was clear that Lincoln would be a better mobility and medical alert dog than a PTSD dog. So he was matched with Catherine in May 2021.

Lincoln currently has about one month left in his training. He has a multitude of specific tasks that will prove invaluable for daily needs such as Alerting to Dystonia tremor preemptively (for the purpose of taking medication/ getting to a safe place), Forward Momentum Pull (taking pressure off joints while walking), Deep Pressure Therapy (applying pressure for multiple reasons including spasm and tremor), Retrieval of named items, picking up dropped items, Alarm alerts, Alerting to repetitive behaviors, Block and Cover, Open/Close doors, removing clothing, fetch/cover and remove a blanket, picking up laundry, placing laundry in the washer/putting it in the dryer/taking it out of dryer.

 

To find out more about Lincolns training feel free to follow @heartofapuppyraiser on Instagram.

 

Fortunately for both Catherine and Lincoln, they will have many opportunities to meet together as training progresses, leading to Lincoln’s permanent placement.

The Goal

As service dogs are prohibitively expensive, there is a need for funding which will make Lincoln's placement with Catherine possible. Even though doctors prescribe a service dog as treatment, insurance will not pay any cost towards him.

 

With Lincoln's help, Catherine will be able to attend university hopefully finishing and being able to consider grad schools. Attend social functions more confidently, knowing it may not be interrupted as frequently in ER trips or unrelenting tremors.

If Lincoln can help Catherine to complete university at UAB, then Cat will be able to work in assisting therapies for individuals with severe disabilities or serious traumas including PTSD. Some of these therapies she volunteers with or has worked in previously, they include: Aquatherapy and Equine Therapy (Including hippotherapy). Catherine most wants to eventually open her own equine therapy center serving a number of populations (disabled persons, first responders, and adoptees especially) who could benefit dramatically!

 

Please if you are able to assist in funding we would great appreciate the help. If you are unable to assist something financially sharing the page is especially helpful. Thank you for reading and for supporting us in this way!

 

Cheers!