POTS Service Dog for Mae

This is a story about a fighter, a superhero…and you. The picture above is my best friend Mae Fuller; she is 22 years old, and has been fighting to live a full life in the midst of a chronic illness.  I have watched this woman write a thesis, and graduate from Hampshire College from a hospital bed. She has balanced starting an LLC (https://www.lymphandhoney.com/), while driving back and forth to endless specialty appointments trying to figure out how to manage her gastroparesis and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome(POTS). For two years we have been searching for the cause of her costly and worsening conditions, but also for a way to make these debilitating conditions livable. But we simply can’t do it alone.


That’s where Garvey, our superhero, comes in.

He is a rescue puppy who is to be trained with Heroes, Horses and Hounds, a local rescue and service animal training organization out of Sunderland MA. This is where you come into the story. Whoever “you are,” you can be a part of bringing these two together.

 

You see for Mae, taking a shower, picking an item up off the floor, and even walking around the grocery store can quickly escalate into a full blown POTS attack. POTS is a neurological condition that affects circulation and heart rate. Each time Mae stands up, her body doesn’t signal its blood vessels to contract, so it pools to her feet. Her heart responds to this drop in blood pressure by beating as fast as it can to try to bring blood back up to the brain, but it can’t manage that all on its own. In a matter of minutes, this process deprives her brain of oxygen, causing Mae to faint or have convulsive episodes.


Without someone by her side, she cannot safely go about her day to day life.  Our efforts have been extensive. We have made signup sheets to schedule friends to come help out, we have given up crucial parts of a happy life like hiking and dancing; but with Garvey around we wouldn’t need to. Like I said this is a story about a superhero, who is specifically being trained to give Mae her life back. If we can find the money to pay Heroes, Horses and Hounds, for the costs of training a service dog; we can bring Garvey home and they can continue to do the life changing work that they do.



To give you an idea their work, Garvey’s task work can be broken down into three areas:


Cardiac alert - Garvey is sensitive to both Mae’s heart rate and blood pressure. He will give enough warning that allows Mae to be lying down in a safe place before a POTS attack even begins. Garvey will also burrow under Mae’s legs to elevate her blood pressure and lessen the severity of the attack. Most importantly when Mae passes out, Garvey will alert nearby people, or even use a special phone to contact emergency services.

 

Mobility - Garvey will brace Mae during dizzy spells and provide forward momentum while walking so that Mae needs less energy to walk. Garvey will also pick up dropped items, retrieve medication or items out of reach, and help Mae get up off of the floor after dizzy/fainting spells.


Psychiatric support -  As you can imagine living with POTS can be extremely stressful and can lead to anxiety which then worsens the condition. Garvey will assist Mae in coping with her anxiety by alerting to compulsive nervous picking and providing both deep and light pressure therapy to ground Mae during panic attacks.



Furthermore Garvey, will be a companion; a reassuring and joyful presence who will not only protect Mae’s life, but make it richer. Like I said, Mae is a fighter, hoping to apply to competitive PhD programs in Human Sexuality, to further her career as a counselor and educator.


So now we invite you to be a part of giving this story a happy ending. Whatever you can give, for whatever reason you a giving, your donations will be life changing for Mae, Garvey, and all of the other people who receive rescue service dogs from Heroes, Horses, and Hounds. This is truly a gift that keeps on giving, and is met with endless gratitude. We need to raise $3,600to secure Garvey in our lives. Thank you for the love and support.


For more information on how your donations will be used, below is the budget breakdown, information on Mae’s condition, and more information about Hero’s, Horses, and Hounds.

 

Budget breakdown:

ITEM                                                                                                      COST
Puppy (Garvey)                                                                             $1500

Veterinary Care Fund                                                                $800

Service Dog Gear (Harness for when he’s bigger,     $200
“In training” harness for now, toys/chews etc.)

Basic Obedience and Task Training Classes                $1000


We are hoping to raise enough money to sustain care for Garvey throughout this transitional time in Mae’s life.



POTS information:


For more information go to Dysautonomia International’s(DI) website sourced below. DI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers whose goal is to raise awareness about forms of dysautonomia (like POTS and gastroparesis), advocate for those who suffer from these conditions, and to spur advancements in medical research pertaining to dysautonomia. When asked about the quality of life for some who have POTS they stated,: “Physicians with expertise in treating POTS have compared the functional impairment seen in POTS patients to the impairment seen in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or congestive heart failure.1 Approximately 25% of POTS patients are disabled and unable to work.1 Researchers found that quality-of-life in POTS patients is comparable to patients on dialysis for kidney failure.21, 22”


http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=30