Help a disabled trans woman get a service animal!

Hey y'all, my name is Jaime, and I could really use some community support. I’m a 30 year old trans woman living in Denver, CO, and disability has really knocked me out. I’ll elaborate on why, but there are so many parts of my life where I believe a service dog would be able to help me. I was born with a genetic condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and I’ve aged into what doctors call the “pain stage” of EDS. EDS affects all of the connective tissue in your body, and as it turns out that stuff is everywhere. It’s the glue that holds you together, and I feel like I’m falling apart.

A lot of EDS patients also develop something called POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, and surprise surprise I have that too. It’s a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (which is like involuntary bodily functions) and, hey, it turns out that pretty much affects your whole body too.

These conditions have me dealing with a whole host of daily symptoms. Dizziness and vertigo have me falling down in my own home multiple times a day because my blood doesn't get to where it needs to in my body. Weak joints thanks to EDS really set me up for failure there. My brain feels like a small marble inside the glass jar of my skull, and even turning my head can make the world spin. Like someone’s trying to break that jar by slamming the marble into the side of it.

Then chronic migraines bust in from the top rope and magnify every neurological symptom by about a thousand. My digestive system has become a nightmare, my heart rate can't distinguish a relaxing day from trying to survive the purge, and the brain fog can be extremely disorienting. I’ve had to learn what air hunger is and, yeah, it’s exactly what it sounds like.

I could go on, but I’ll refrain for once in my life lol.

My past few years have been a bumpy road of trial and error. Neither POTS nor EDS have cures or even really solid treatment plans. You really just have to try and pinpoint the worst symptoms and do your best to treat them one at a time. It’s been years of constant appointments with cardiologists, geneticists, physical therapists and a lot more.

My wife is a rockstar, and I can’t imagine doing this without her, but it’s become clear that I need more help. This is where a service dog would come in. To bring me water when I can’t stand because I have to hydrate more than seems reasonable. To bring me electrolyte pills when I'm crashing and too dizzy to move. To help literally hold me up because the vertigo can make a short walk in my own home impossible. To help comfort me, because this world can't produce a trans, neurodivergent person that isn’t deeply traumatized.

I want my life back, and a service dog would be more impactful than I can really say with words, and I have a lot of those to throw around.

My wife and I have spent the last few months researching the best way to go about this and it’s as overwhelming as you probably think. Without many legal guidelines, service animal organizations range from scammers to non profits. There is no one way to gauge a dog’s potential for service, no universal training regimen.

It’s been a hard process of trying to find out what professionals view as the golden standards, which not-legally-required accreditations are meaningful and which are not, and what actually makes for an ethical breeder.

Getting already-trained service animals is like trying to win the lottery, and seems to cost almost twice as much. Because of this, we’ve decided our best bet is to get a puppy from a reputable breeder that knows how to test for temperament properly, and then work with a trainer on specific service tasks once the puppy is old enough.

But of course, ethical breeders are highly sought after, you have to get in on a litter when puppies are available and act quickly, and that means you need the funds ready to go. The money I hope to acquire from this fundraiser would go to:

Breeder fees

Initial vet bills

Pet insurance

Normal pet supplies like leashes, crates, beds, etc.

And both regular and service-specific training with a professional once the puppy is old enough.

My wife and I would love nothing more than to add to our little family of 2 tired 30-somethings and 3 cats. A service dog would improve my life immeasurably, so if you’ve got the time to share or the pennies to spare, it would mean the world.