Hello,

My name is Emily, and I am 22 years old living in Omaha, Nebraska. My medical issues began when I was in 6th grade, dealing with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. In 2016, I played select softball when I got a severe concussion. This has caused me to be prone to more concussions as I have grown up, causing me to quit sports. I’ve been battling with post-concussion syndrome ever since, which has decreased my ability to see and struggle with severe migraines, which I have to have an IV injection to help minimize. In 2024, I was diagnosed with OCD for contamination. This disorder has ruined my life; I am terrified of eating or leaving the house every day. I struggle with panic attacks now from being worried that I’m going to get sick. The past year, I’ve been working on my OCD with help from my friends and family, yet I still battle with it every day. In October 2025, I began to experience excruciating pain in my lower right abdomen where I could not walk. We thought it was my appendix, but it was not. Throughout the month, I was in and out of urgent cares and emergency rooms. No matter where I went and what tests I did, there were no answers. My blood did show severe inflammation throughout my body. This has led down the path of a rheumatic disease such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. I’ve been pumped with medications which have not helped. It has caused me to be unable to get up without assistance. I get constant fevers from the pain. Every joint in my body is on fire. I am 22 years old, and I can’t move most days. As I seem to not get any help from doctors, I’ve been looking into other ways to help me live a semi-normal life without excruciating pain. I’ve started an anti-inflammatory diet and daily exercise, but as I have still needed help from friends and family daily with movement and getting me medicine, I am in the process of getting a service dog to assist me with mobility, medicine retrieval, deep pressure therapy, and notifying me before an attack. Dogs can smell migraines before they happen and even inflammation in the body. I am asking for some help to get the service dog training as it is expensive. With all the medical bills piling up, a service dog is out of the question. Anything would help me get a step closer to getting a service dog companion to help me every day through the pain. I never wanted to ask people for money, but I’ve gotten to the point where I need to ask for help just to get up out of bed and go to work, so anything will help me. I really appreciate you taking the time to even read my long, long story. Also for every $100 donation a generous donor will match $50.