HELP River-Kai get a Service Dog
Donation protected
When PTSD comes to thought, we tend to think of the our military veterans, the soldiers still fighting and victims of horrific assaults.
Let me introduce you to River-Kai, a 9 year old chronic medical warrior who's endured chronic medical trauma since birth in order to survive, thrive & live a life as he deserves. I won't bore you with his extremely long complex medical history, that's what great videos are for.
River-Kai, has been under anesthesia 54+ times since he was 9 weeks old. At 9 weeks old, he had his first life saving surgery & on February 11, 2018, he defied the odds once again (9 days post op from ambulatory surgery unrelated). He is a survivor x2 which in my book makes him a WARRIOR. A warrior has perseverance, nothing will stop them from continuing no matter the difficulties which may still lie ahead.
Since an early age River-Kai was diagnosed with possible ASD/Asperger's and ADHD with a superior I.Q. via testing. Before Pre-K, it was known he had Sensory Processing Disorder and some medical anxieties. Patterns started to form in the sense of things that acerbated his fight or flight state as I always called it. No matter where he was, if things were busy, loud, unpredictable he sought refuge. If he was hiding he was climbing or running as if he needed to escape. On February 2018, during a month long hospital stay after his second emergency life saving surgery, River-Kai was diagnosed with PTSD.
ADHD & ASD sometimes mimic or zebra Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/PTSD in children, adolescents & teens. River-Kai’s history shows; he’s had undiagnosed PTSD since around age two and is derived from chronic yet needed Medical Trauma. On May 18, 2018, River-Kai started trauma therapy. He seems to connect & trust his trauma therapist that he sees every Friday, a work in progress.
TRAIN A DOG-SAVE A WARRIOR
TADSAW, was introduced to me by two Veterans that I met who raise money & awareness for PTSD as well as promote companies that are MADE IN THE USA and veteran owned. TADSAW has offered River-Kai to train in the TADSAW "Train a Dog-Save A Civilian" program. TADSAW dogs and training are FREE to our veterans. TADSAW is not free to civilians but the cost of training is at the cost of what TADSAW would pay for the veterans.
WHAT DOES TADSAW DO?
The mission of TADSAW is to unite disabled persons surviving with PTSD, with rescue shelter dogs, who are evaluated and deemed viable, to nuture a healing and rejuvenating bond between the two. The result is positive, non judgmental, unconditional relationship desperately needed by both. TADSAW combines the disciplines of Occupational, Physical, Psychotherapeutic & Spiritual therapy, all in a single program.
Bart Sherwood the director of TAFSAW, put me in contact with one of his trainers. Caroline Coniglio will be River-Kai’s TADSAW trainer. She has watched River-Kai's videos to understand his needs and story. Once she finds him a dog & they are a match, the process will start. In the mean time WE NEED YOU!
YOU can actively help with this endeavor by patronizing our campaign, sharing this campaign with your network & you'll not only help a child heal but you will also be saving a recuse dog.
Your donation will help heal River-Kai how? A service dog will alleviate a lot of his daily triggers as his TADSAW "BATTLE BUDDY" dog will train from day one with him, unlike other service animals.
It is proven that petting a dog decreases the release of Cortisol and increases the release of Oxytocin into the bloodstream. Decreases in cortisol lower blood pressure and facilitate a sense of relaxation while increases of Oxytocin (the same chemical released when a mother nurses her infant) will facilitate a sense of security and well being.
River-Kai severely struggles with emotional regulation especially prior to and after a full PTSD trigger and/or melt down. It has been documented that a dog helps with emotional regulation. His trauma therapist has seen many symptoms of PTSD which could impact his education, which it already has.
Symptoms River-Kai can endure daily: ( each day is different just as our environment changes day to day, moment to moment):
Difficult to concentrate & sit still in a classroom, easily startled, distracted, and responds negatively to being touched, when uncomfortable or feels threatened, his response is often to run & hide, he has trouble with transitions, and often acts out during these times, trust issues & him feeling unsafe make it difficult for him as well.
At present, River-Kai is in the 4th grade but has had difficulty transitioning back to school after being home instructed by the district. A PTSD service dog will help River-Kai attend school. Schools are not trained & they do not understand the after math of trauma. Therefore, they are incapable to attend to a child with complex chronic medical issues, let alone PTSD. Typically, they'd put them in an out of district school where most kids have lower IQ's and are severely disabled. Having a high IQ but caught between two worlds...a world of a chronically ill child and a world of a typical child. My fight for River-Kai a lot harder because his illness is not visual...unless his shirt is off. River-Kai wants to be a kid, go to school & have friends.
“Much of of life can never be explained but only witnessed”-Rachael Ramen M.D.
www.facebook.com/teamriverkai
www.soldiersolutionsllc.com Scroll down the home page and see the connection River-Kai has with a lot of veterans.
www.tadasw.org for more information or to help a veteran in need.
VIDEOS LINKS OF RIVER-KAI’S JOURNEY:
https://gopro.com/v/qvN19anQbZa0
https://quik.gopro.com/v/3KBW1MnRMb/
https://animoto.com/play/PMvhoc6PT8jpaoyZTo43Kg#
Kind regards,
Catherine &
The Campaign team “GUTS OF A WARRIOR"
A quote I used in honor of River-Kai's survival on 2/11/2018, when medically all odds were against him.
“Fate whispers to the warrior, you can’t handle the storm. The warrior whispers back, I AM THE STORM”.
Let me introduce you to River-Kai, a 9 year old chronic medical warrior who's endured chronic medical trauma since birth in order to survive, thrive & live a life as he deserves. I won't bore you with his extremely long complex medical history, that's what great videos are for.
River-Kai, has been under anesthesia 54+ times since he was 9 weeks old. At 9 weeks old, he had his first life saving surgery & on February 11, 2018, he defied the odds once again (9 days post op from ambulatory surgery unrelated). He is a survivor x2 which in my book makes him a WARRIOR. A warrior has perseverance, nothing will stop them from continuing no matter the difficulties which may still lie ahead.
Since an early age River-Kai was diagnosed with possible ASD/Asperger's and ADHD with a superior I.Q. via testing. Before Pre-K, it was known he had Sensory Processing Disorder and some medical anxieties. Patterns started to form in the sense of things that acerbated his fight or flight state as I always called it. No matter where he was, if things were busy, loud, unpredictable he sought refuge. If he was hiding he was climbing or running as if he needed to escape. On February 2018, during a month long hospital stay after his second emergency life saving surgery, River-Kai was diagnosed with PTSD.
ADHD & ASD sometimes mimic or zebra Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/PTSD in children, adolescents & teens. River-Kai’s history shows; he’s had undiagnosed PTSD since around age two and is derived from chronic yet needed Medical Trauma. On May 18, 2018, River-Kai started trauma therapy. He seems to connect & trust his trauma therapist that he sees every Friday, a work in progress.
TRAIN A DOG-SAVE A WARRIOR
TADSAW, was introduced to me by two Veterans that I met who raise money & awareness for PTSD as well as promote companies that are MADE IN THE USA and veteran owned. TADSAW has offered River-Kai to train in the TADSAW "Train a Dog-Save A Civilian" program. TADSAW dogs and training are FREE to our veterans. TADSAW is not free to civilians but the cost of training is at the cost of what TADSAW would pay for the veterans.
WHAT DOES TADSAW DO?
The mission of TADSAW is to unite disabled persons surviving with PTSD, with rescue shelter dogs, who are evaluated and deemed viable, to nuture a healing and rejuvenating bond between the two. The result is positive, non judgmental, unconditional relationship desperately needed by both. TADSAW combines the disciplines of Occupational, Physical, Psychotherapeutic & Spiritual therapy, all in a single program.
Bart Sherwood the director of TAFSAW, put me in contact with one of his trainers. Caroline Coniglio will be River-Kai’s TADSAW trainer. She has watched River-Kai's videos to understand his needs and story. Once she finds him a dog & they are a match, the process will start. In the mean time WE NEED YOU!
YOU can actively help with this endeavor by patronizing our campaign, sharing this campaign with your network & you'll not only help a child heal but you will also be saving a recuse dog.
Your donation will help heal River-Kai how? A service dog will alleviate a lot of his daily triggers as his TADSAW "BATTLE BUDDY" dog will train from day one with him, unlike other service animals.
It is proven that petting a dog decreases the release of Cortisol and increases the release of Oxytocin into the bloodstream. Decreases in cortisol lower blood pressure and facilitate a sense of relaxation while increases of Oxytocin (the same chemical released when a mother nurses her infant) will facilitate a sense of security and well being.
River-Kai severely struggles with emotional regulation especially prior to and after a full PTSD trigger and/or melt down. It has been documented that a dog helps with emotional regulation. His trauma therapist has seen many symptoms of PTSD which could impact his education, which it already has.
Symptoms River-Kai can endure daily: ( each day is different just as our environment changes day to day, moment to moment):
Difficult to concentrate & sit still in a classroom, easily startled, distracted, and responds negatively to being touched, when uncomfortable or feels threatened, his response is often to run & hide, he has trouble with transitions, and often acts out during these times, trust issues & him feeling unsafe make it difficult for him as well.
At present, River-Kai is in the 4th grade but has had difficulty transitioning back to school after being home instructed by the district. A PTSD service dog will help River-Kai attend school. Schools are not trained & they do not understand the after math of trauma. Therefore, they are incapable to attend to a child with complex chronic medical issues, let alone PTSD. Typically, they'd put them in an out of district school where most kids have lower IQ's and are severely disabled. Having a high IQ but caught between two worlds...a world of a chronically ill child and a world of a typical child. My fight for River-Kai a lot harder because his illness is not visual...unless his shirt is off. River-Kai wants to be a kid, go to school & have friends.
“Much of of life can never be explained but only witnessed”-Rachael Ramen M.D.
www.facebook.com/teamriverkai
www.soldiersolutionsllc.com Scroll down the home page and see the connection River-Kai has with a lot of veterans.
www.tadasw.org for more information or to help a veteran in need.
VIDEOS LINKS OF RIVER-KAI’S JOURNEY:
https://gopro.com/v/qvN19anQbZa0
https://quik.gopro.com/v/3KBW1MnRMb/
https://animoto.com/play/PMvhoc6PT8jpaoyZTo43Kg#
Kind regards,
Catherine &
The Campaign team “GUTS OF A WARRIOR"
A quote I used in honor of River-Kai's survival on 2/11/2018, when medically all odds were against him.
“Fate whispers to the warrior, you can’t handle the storm. The warrior whispers back, I AM THE STORM”.
Co-organizers (4)
Catherine Wheeler
Organizer
Maybrook, NY
Kim Ann Candela
Co-organizer
Robyn Marie
Co-organizer
Somer Johnson
Co-organizer