When I was 12 years old, my life completely changed overnight. While sitting in the living room just hanging out one day, when all of a sudden, my head felt like it was about to explode. The room felt like it was spinning, and light just hurt to look at. What I did not know at the time was I was experiencing my first migraine, a condition that I would continue to become familiar with for the next 14 years. My mom brought me some medicine and tucked me in right there on the couch, and all I could do was clutch my American Girl Dolls for dear life and hoping that the sensation would stop eventually. It took 3 hours, which as of right now is actually a short migraine for me. Over the years, I have missed a lot of my life due to being in bed with a migraine. Birthday parties, chorus concerts, activities while at my summer camp; nearly a full year of my life in college was spent in bed while I was on medical leave and struggling through keeping a job due to my health. Sometimes when I am out of the house, a migraine can confuse and overwhelm me to the point where even navigating where I want to go is hard, especially while driving. Now that I am 26, I feel as though I want to take back my life. I need to be able to take back my life.

Service dogs can help a variety of disabilities, from blindness to wheelchair users to medical alert/response and much more. My hope is that this dog can do three things:

1. Help me when I am having a migraine, including helping me get to a quiet place where I can take my medications.

2. Help alert me when I am going to get a migraine via smell, so if I am busy and do not notice my symptoms, the dog will.

3. Help me feel more secure with myself knowing that I have something that can help me with my medical issues with me.

I have also recently been diagnosed with POTS after having Covid a multitude of times, which makes me extremely dizzy and black out throughout the day. I do not advertise that this happens, and many people do not notice that this happens, but it is very scary and can make me feel uneasy when out by myself. This dog will also be able to help me through these spells too.

Its been a grieving process on the things I feel I have missed out over these years. And COVID certainly did not help either. On the other hand, this is also the reason why I am so passionate about helping empower people with disabilities. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to struggle with something completely outside of your control and all the ramifications it comes with.

Currently, I am a case manager for people with disabilities, and I help them manage their benefits. Many of my clients have let me know that I am already one of the fiercest advocates that they have had. I believe that anyone should be able to do what they want to do, they just might need some help in reaching that goal. And this is also why I am planning on a service dog. Sometimes we need help- and for me, the help is going to come in the form of four paws and a very talented trainer that has been with me through this crazy ride.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.