Get a service dog for Nevaeh- Naes Village

Christine Suchsland is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hi everyone!

Most of you know the medical journey Nevaeh has been on throughout her life. But for those of you who don’t, here’s her story.

She’s currently 18 years old and has had health issues since she was a baby.
Her dad and I started searching for answers when she was less than a year old
She was been to Mayo Clinic twice, Children’s Hospital too many times to count, had massive open abdominal surgery in Connecticut with a world renown vascular specialist, has a POTS specialist in Florida, had eye surgery to tighten loose ligaments due to EDS, had anaphylactic reactions, had too many tests and labs run, and been in the ER over and over again, and the list goes on.
Her main diagnoses are: Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS- surgery), Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome (SMAS), mast cells activation syndrome (MCAS), severe gastroparesis, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
POTS- Her autonomic nervous system doesn’t work, she doesn’t regulate her body temperature, doesn’t sweat properly, her blood pools in her legs and abdomen because her blood vessels are lax so they can’t push the blood up to her head when standing so she passes out frequently. Her pulse skyrockets, her eyes dilate, she turns white as a ghost or beet red. She has a lot of issues from this condition.

She recently started college and has been passing out more than ever. Last night her friends called 911 because she passed out 5 times in less than 30 minutes. The episodes are lasting longer (staying out for up to 10 minutes). We want her to be independent and safe. A service dog will enable her to feel more confident walking around campus alone. We have found a service dog agency that can train a dog to address her needs (potentially alert her before passing out, stay with her while passed out, dog will wear a vest that explains what she has so others know what to do, help her to get down when passing out without hurting herself, retrieve items on days when her legs aren’t working well, etc). That’s where the fundraising comes in. The cost for this dog is $30,000 so we are going to fundraise so we can get this process started as soon as possible. The sooner we get the money, the faster we can get a dog started for her. It is $9,000 down and the rest due when the dog is delivered. They will deliver the dog to her in NY and stay for several days while working with her and the dog.

This go fund me is our first fundraising deal, but there will be more to come as we get organized.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for donating. It takes a village and we have been truly blessed with all of you being in our village ❤️