About Me and My Future Service Dog

Hi, my name is Megan Fleming and I am a 20-year-old from Neptune, New Jersey. I am currently a junior biomedical engineering major at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. My ultimate career goal is to make a difference for others who suffer from chronic illnesses and diseases like me.

Unfortunately, due to several chronic medical conditions, this dream of mine requires more than just my determination and hard-work. My family, my doctors and I, all agree I need a service dog to continue to pursue my future. This service dog will be trained to provide medical response, mobility support, daily living assistance and emotional care and comfort. I will be able to live my life to the fullest despite my challenges. It truly gives me hope for my future.

I will be working with the SIT (Supporting Independence through Teamwork) Service Dog organization in southwestern Illinois to acquire a dog that will meet all my needs. We have begun the process and hope to be getting my dog sometime during my senior year of college. The training SIT provides is a significant expense, costing upwards of $30,000. Any contributions to offset these costs is greatly appreciated by my family and I.

My Medical Journey

On September 1, 2019, during my freshman year of high school, I was out riding my bike with friends, when I fell and landed on my knee, leaving me with a bone bruise. A few weeks later, I came down with a sinus infection. Both of these seemingly minor and unrelated medical issues have left me with a list of chronic medical conditions that reads like a medical textbook.

What seemed like two unrelated incidents quickly spiraled, leaving me with a variety of symptoms including severe fatigue, chronic headaches, chronic body pain, nausea, light sensitivity, cognitive issues, dizziness, abnormal vitals, and more. These unrelated symptoms persisted, so my family and I began what has been an incredibly complex search for answers. Each year, new symptoms lead to new diagnoses. And for much of these six years, this search has been about finding temporary treatments, not permanent solutions.

My first diagnosis of FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) came in January 2020 as the result of a variety of diagnostic tests, which were inconclusive. Fifteen-year-old me was happy to have a treatment plan and hoped my life would go back to “normal” soon. A couple of months later, the FND was accompanied by an additional diagnosis of AMPS (Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome). In August 2020, I was admitted to the AMPS clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). This intensive, in-patient therapy program was incredibly traumatic and ultimately did nothing to improve my condition. In fact, in the five years since, these misdiagnoses have left me with both physical and psychological damage.

In May 2021, I met with a neurologist at CHOP who gave me hope and has been an integral part of my medical journey ever since. He immediately diagnosed me with many conditions including Chronic Migraine with Aura and Status Migrainous, TAC (Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias) headaches, POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). His referrals to the dysautonomia clinic at CHOP and headache clinic at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia have led to treatments that give me some relief of my symptoms.

Throughout the rest of my high school years, my medical conditions multiplied like a complicated calculus problem. As a result, I was under the care of a cardiologist, gastroenterologist, immunologist, infectious disease specialist, neurologist, pulmonologist – all trying to find treatments for me. Despite all of this, I spoke at my HS graduation, took a senior trip to Disney World with my family and prepared for my freshman year at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA.

This progress, however, was short-lived. During my sophomore year, I was diagnosed with cervical spine instability, which requires me to wear a cervical collar 24/7; gastroparesis, which has caused malnourishment, dehydration and severe weight loss; and primary immune deficiency, which makes even the common cold extremely dangerous. Of all the diagnoses, the most significant and life-altering, was my Tethered Cord Syndrome diagnosis.

This diagnosis explained so many of the neurological symptoms that developed in my lower extremities during my sophomore year: a pulling sensation in my spine, numbness and tingling in my legs, tremors, bladder issues, and, eventually, the inability to walk short distances without issue.

This rapid deterioration of mobility within six months meant the immediate need for treatment, because left untreated, Tethered Cord Syndrome leads to permanent damage and paralysis. The only treatment is surgery, where they remove the filum, which is what is tethering my spinal cord. There are only a few neurosurgeons who perform this major surgery. On May 21, 2025, I underwent spinal surgery at Brown University Medical Center in Providence, RI. The recovery from this surgery was INTENSE and led to a new medical complication. Following a full-blown allergic reaction to the IV magnesium treating my post-surgical CSF-related head pain, I was diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). This means my body can, and will, develop severe allergies without warning. These can lead to anaphylactic symptoms, which require immediate medical attention and lead me unable to try treatments once an allergy is formed.

Being three hours away from home with all of my medical issues has been challenging to navigate. Due to the severity of all my conditions, I now have to use a rollator to walk more than a few steps, give myself IV fluids daily through a PICC-line in my arm, receive monthly immunoglobulin infusions, monitor my MAST-cell reactions, and manage my food and fluids intake to counteract malnutrition. Having a service dog by my side will give me independence and my family assurance that I can continue pursuing my degree in biomedical engineering. Thank you so much for reading my story!!