Hi, I’m Reagan (or Rea!)

I am 25 years old, and I recently started having seizures.

During my last seizure, I was walking home and face-planted on the pavement, smashing my nose, hitting my head, biting my tongue bloody, and scraping my hands and arms. During the one previous to that, I also directly hit my head, leaving a large lump that took days to heal.

As my seizures increase in frequency despite medications, I am facing a reality in which I am unable to work, drive, or even walk around alone.

The cause of them has not yet been determined by the doctors I’ve been able to see. I have an appointment with a Neurologist soon, which hopefully will provide some answers, but more than likely I will need long-term ongoing care— and I’m about to lose my insurance when I turn 26 this summer (2023). Medicaid will be able to cover some, but not all of the tests and treatments I will need.

Without insurance, without an income, and without transportation, I will have no hope of living independently. When my seizures first started in February, I was living on my own in Chicago. After it became unsafe for me to live alone, and so far from family, I was forced to move back in with my father in Utah. I am truly blessed to have him, we have a close relationship and he has done so much to care for me throughout this ordeal. But, as you can imagine, being unable to support myself is taking a drastic toll on my mental health and self-esteem, which I was already struggling with before the seizures changed my entire life.

I have diagnosed Bipolar (II) disorder, which I’ve been in treatment for for years, and my mood used to fluctuate between really high and really low. Now, it mostly ranges from low, to dangerously low (suicidal). There are many days that I feel I can’t go on living like this. Unable to do any of the things that once made me happy, unable to even leave the house most days, unable to see my friends… I am lonely, and deeply afraid for my future.

A service dog would give me the freedom to adapt to a new kind of independence. As I receive long-term ongoing care for my seizures, with the aid of a service dog I would be able to get around and be kept safe when at home alone.

Unfortunately, I, nor anyone in my family, can afford one alone. The cost of service dogs for seizures typically ranges from $15,000 to $30,000, with seizure response dogs being on the higher end of that cost range. I need a seizure response dog, versus a seizure alert dog, because my seizures come on instantly without any warning. No headache, no dizziness, nothing. I could be mid-sentence and just drop. A seizure response dog would be able to get help if anyone is around, help me re-stabilize after the attack, physically protect me during the attack, and potentially even cushion my fall.

This would drastically change my day-to-day life, and possibly prevent more head injuries.

This is a lot of money to ask for, but getting anywhere close to this goal would help quite literally save my life. Of course if you are unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser would make such a difference as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, if you made it this far! I know it’s a whole lot of information and backstory, I just wanted to be as open and thorough as possible. (: