Empower Independence: Help Bella-Jade's Service Dog Training

Hello everyone, my name is Nicole LaMont and my dog's name is Bella-Jade. I am Deaf due to a rare diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis in childhood that caused overnight deafness. In 2022, I contracted COVID, which caused me to develop dysautonomia with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

This debilitating disorder causes the autonomic nervous system not to work properly. Your autonomic nervous system regulates heart rate, breathing, body temperature, digestion, blood flow, and other vital functions. My dysautonomia/POTS causes my heart rate to increase to over 100+ bpm just by standing in place; labile blood pressures, which means they have sudden and drastic changes in a matter of seconds, such as dropping to the extreme lows (70s/50s) or extreme highs (160s/100s), which can cause passing out at any given time; inability to regulated body temperature; dizziness, lightheadedness; intense headaches, and extreme shortness of breath. This also caused my neurosarcoidosis to flare-up and send my already compromised immune system into overdrive.

I went from being extremely fit and physically active by being a former dancer for two dance companies; Taekwondo, and running 2-miles a day as a workout warm up; continuing my mission and advocacy work for accessibility for the deaf and disabled communities as former Miss Deaf Alabama, all while working full-time as a Medical Laboratory Scientist. In addition to that, I was also able to freely travel in my leisure and was a full-time student working on a Masters. I always felt I had the balance and energy to do it all, even at times when my neurosarcoidosis caused issues. I went from all of that to now dysautonomia leaving me in a debilitating state.

I can no longer live the healthy and carefree, active lifestyle I loved so much. Attempts to exercise regularly sends my body into overdrive. I can no longer take a casual venture to the grocery store or mall without fearing I'd pass out or have debilitating symptoms without being able to predict how my body will react to the simplest activities of just walking around in a store. Every move I make has to be mapped out; will there be anyone around to find me? Is this a new or familiar location? How far is the car from the door in case I need to get back urgently? Can I stand in this store line for 10mins without sudden symptoms? Feeling lightheaded and dizzy, can I make it back to the car without passing out? Is it safe to drive? What if I pass out in the middle of the street? Is this headache from my blood pressure and onset of a dysautonomia medical event or am I okay to proceed with my plans? The list goes on. These are things I never had to consider just 2-years ago as a healthy young woman.

I am hoping to raise the funds for my service dog to attend training for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and hearing alerts. With the proper service animal training, she will be able to pick up on my autonomic nervous system cues and alert me when my blood pressures are too high/low and if my heart rate is too high. She will give me the security I need to not worry about having medical emergencies in public and will be able to warn me when I need to sit or lay down to prevent passing out or other worsening symptoms. Should I have a medical event, she will be able to alert someone for help and perform tasks necessary until help arrives. My service animal will be able to give me my independence back and the security I need for more control over my life. Service dog training costs between $8,000-10,000 and she at the age to start as soon as possible. Currently, Bella-Jade is already fluent in both verbal and American Sign Language commands that I have trained her at home. While many local trainers are impressed with what I have done on my own, the specific emergency training she requires is not something I can do. She must attend professional Service Dog Training Academy for 6mos to 1yr to become officially certified and learn to perform the tasks I desperately need to keep me safe. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.