Medical Service Dog...Hope & Healing for Leah

Dear FB friends and family: help me in supporting Leah as she faces the challenges presented by the neuromuscular disease Myasthenia Gravis. If you’re a dog lover—as we are—you surely understand how puppy love can be some of the best medicine.

A medical service dog will add to her quality of life and help keep her safe for years to come. Our initial fundraising goal will help offset the cost of adoption fees, registration/training, and ongoing care.

As Leah navigates the new challenge of talking about her condition and future needs, she has offered to go into more depth below. Thank you for your consideration, generosity, and support through this struggle.

From Leah:

Friends and loved ones: in May of this year I was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune disease MG, where antibodies attack the nerves that deliver messages from my brain to my muscles. It began affecting my eyes (double vision) but has generalized to include my neck and balance, and over time could attack my limbs and other voluntary muscles.

The great news is there are promising courses of treatment and I've been blessed with expert doctors. I’m on steroids and immunosuppressants which will hopefully slow the progression until I have thoracic surgery later this year. After which my course of treatment will likely include weekly/monthly infusions (IvIG) and/or plasmapheresis. There are effective new drugs which are cost-prohibitive at this time, so this will mean considerable lifestyle changes. The only way to restore muscle function is to rest the body and take care of myself as best as I can.

It's been suggested by my neurologist a service dog would help physically, emotionally, and even medically. A companion animal will greatly improve my quality of life and can be trained as a medical alert dog for falls, temporary loss of muscle function, and respiratory crises.

For now, the priority is that I become bonded with a pup with a big role to play. Emotional support and daily walks which don't overtax my body will help me retain a positive outlook that MG will not rob me of things that bring me joy.

There are organizations that place fully trained medical service dogs, but waitlists take many years and cost massive amounts (beginning at $20,000). Because of this, I have decided to undertake the adoption and training myself, which has proved successful for patients with all kinds of diseases including MG.

To start this process, I have to adopt a dog from an AKC recommended, highly-trainable breed with the right temperament for my condition. With my parents supporting me through ongoing medical expenses at retirement age, we hoped a fundraiser might be helpful with these costs:

(Est. $2,500)

If by chance donations exceed our goal, funds will go towards a medical savings account for ongoing treatment costs. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I would just love to hear from you. I hope you and yours are well and enjoying the Summer. Big love,

Leah