Kiana's Care Dog
Donation protected
Imagine…
One day out of the blue you get a sharp pain in your head and your vision goes black for a few seconds…
When your vision comes back its blurry & associated with a headache that feels like razor blades have been put inside your head and someone is shaking your head and doesn’t ever go away… and from that moment your life changes.
This is my daughter, Kiana’s, story/nightmare she has been experiencing every minute, every hour, every day for the last 6 months.
After numerous blood tests, Ct scan, MRI, lumbar puncture which required a week in hospital due to complications. In the hospital, she was drugged up in the hope to help the pain in her head and to alleviate the severe nausea & vomiting, being in a dark room as her eyes are so sensitive to light and her vision still blurry, seeing every specialist in the hospital for some sort of diagnosis. The only diagnosis they could give her is called, “New Daily Persistent Headache” a primary headache syndrome that is the worst to treat as it doesn’t respond to any particular drug. It can last 6months, 2years, 5years or even 10years, and…it’s not a migraine!
It happened in her last term of yr11 and she couldn’t go back to school. She is doing her year 12 online through Brisbane Distant Education over a 2yr period. Due to her headaches and blurry vision it’s hard for Kiana to spend more than ½ hr on the computer she then needs to have a break, she is doing 3 subjects per year. Every day is a struggle but she is determined to complete her year 12.
So, you can imagine a vibrant 17yr old girl who was a social butterfly is now house bound trying to cope with chronic pain. Her headaches keep her up many hrs of the night so it’s a very lonely time.
This is why we, her family, would like to ask you her friends & family to support her in getting her a dog to be her loving companion. Those of you that know Kiana know how much she loves animals, so much she is vegan... a dog will provide her with unconditional love, keep her company at night, and even get her out of the house giving her back some independence.
With Kiana’s vision being blurry it is not safe for her to cross a road on her own. Her dog will be trained to assist her to perform these tasks. A guide dog can take up to a year or longer Kiana needs a mate now. This is why we have asked for everyone’s support if you can to help with not only the purchase of her dog but with the specific training to suit Kiana’s needs. We will be looking at getting her most probably a Labrador.
If you are unable to support financially I hope this had given you a better understanding of what she has been dealing with for the last 6mths.
In Kiana’s words….
“I realised the sheer number of friends I had lost due to something that was out of my control. With being faced with my medical problems many seemed to decide that I was too much work or effort or they didn’t know how to deal with it so they abandoned me, leaving me alone to deal with it. I didn’t have the choice to leave. The text on my phone grew bigger to help my vision, as my friend group grew smaller. I had been an extremely social teenager, always surrounded by friends and I had to watch helplessly as the numbers dwindled to single digits. It has been bittersweet as it has revealed who my true friends are.
I also lost my independence, as someone who took pride in my freedom this was hard to adjust to and I didn’t like having to rely on others for things as simple as crossing the road or reading texts. Friends and freedom are both massive aspects of teenage life but they were claimed by my headaches and limited vision. Worry comfortably rests on my chest pressing down so that I sometimes felt as though I can’t breathe, thoughts of my future which had seemed so clear were now clouded with doubt.
I suffer through sleepless nights alone as I find little refuge in sleep, most nights my pain bars me from sleep and imprisons me in my room. It’s in these lonely hours that I need a companion the most to be my light as my world continues to darken. A dog would not only offer companionship but also act as an anchor when waves of pain wash over me and make me feel as though I’m drowning. I can’t begin to explain how utterly lonely it can get, to have someone who I don’t have to worry will leave me if I become too much of a hassle would be an unexplainable comfort.”
One day out of the blue you get a sharp pain in your head and your vision goes black for a few seconds…
When your vision comes back its blurry & associated with a headache that feels like razor blades have been put inside your head and someone is shaking your head and doesn’t ever go away… and from that moment your life changes.
This is my daughter, Kiana’s, story/nightmare she has been experiencing every minute, every hour, every day for the last 6 months.
After numerous blood tests, Ct scan, MRI, lumbar puncture which required a week in hospital due to complications. In the hospital, she was drugged up in the hope to help the pain in her head and to alleviate the severe nausea & vomiting, being in a dark room as her eyes are so sensitive to light and her vision still blurry, seeing every specialist in the hospital for some sort of diagnosis. The only diagnosis they could give her is called, “New Daily Persistent Headache” a primary headache syndrome that is the worst to treat as it doesn’t respond to any particular drug. It can last 6months, 2years, 5years or even 10years, and…it’s not a migraine!
It happened in her last term of yr11 and she couldn’t go back to school. She is doing her year 12 online through Brisbane Distant Education over a 2yr period. Due to her headaches and blurry vision it’s hard for Kiana to spend more than ½ hr on the computer she then needs to have a break, she is doing 3 subjects per year. Every day is a struggle but she is determined to complete her year 12.
So, you can imagine a vibrant 17yr old girl who was a social butterfly is now house bound trying to cope with chronic pain. Her headaches keep her up many hrs of the night so it’s a very lonely time.
This is why we, her family, would like to ask you her friends & family to support her in getting her a dog to be her loving companion. Those of you that know Kiana know how much she loves animals, so much she is vegan... a dog will provide her with unconditional love, keep her company at night, and even get her out of the house giving her back some independence.
With Kiana’s vision being blurry it is not safe for her to cross a road on her own. Her dog will be trained to assist her to perform these tasks. A guide dog can take up to a year or longer Kiana needs a mate now. This is why we have asked for everyone’s support if you can to help with not only the purchase of her dog but with the specific training to suit Kiana’s needs. We will be looking at getting her most probably a Labrador.
If you are unable to support financially I hope this had given you a better understanding of what she has been dealing with for the last 6mths.
In Kiana’s words….
“I realised the sheer number of friends I had lost due to something that was out of my control. With being faced with my medical problems many seemed to decide that I was too much work or effort or they didn’t know how to deal with it so they abandoned me, leaving me alone to deal with it. I didn’t have the choice to leave. The text on my phone grew bigger to help my vision, as my friend group grew smaller. I had been an extremely social teenager, always surrounded by friends and I had to watch helplessly as the numbers dwindled to single digits. It has been bittersweet as it has revealed who my true friends are.
I also lost my independence, as someone who took pride in my freedom this was hard to adjust to and I didn’t like having to rely on others for things as simple as crossing the road or reading texts. Friends and freedom are both massive aspects of teenage life but they were claimed by my headaches and limited vision. Worry comfortably rests on my chest pressing down so that I sometimes felt as though I can’t breathe, thoughts of my future which had seemed so clear were now clouded with doubt.
I suffer through sleepless nights alone as I find little refuge in sleep, most nights my pain bars me from sleep and imprisons me in my room. It’s in these lonely hours that I need a companion the most to be my light as my world continues to darken. A dog would not only offer companionship but also act as an anchor when waves of pain wash over me and make me feel as though I’m drowning. I can’t begin to explain how utterly lonely it can get, to have someone who I don’t have to worry will leave me if I become too much of a hassle would be an unexplainable comfort.”
Organiser
Despina Vincent
Organiser
Pinjarra Hills, QLD