Help Robyn To Walk Her Dogs Again

IT'S ONLY FIBRO
Hand burning with  fiery heat
Knives are stabbing at our feet
To scratch an itch with a broken hand
It hurts to walk & yes, to stand

Fingers throbbing to a gentle touch
A little tap can be too much
Toes that feel like razor blades
It comes & goes but never fades

Hard floor, soft floor, it's all the same
No pills we take will kill the flame
The heat, the cold & everything in-between
The pain that's real yet never seen

Will it last an hour or a month this time?
Hide the tears, tell everyone we feel fine
Whatever hurts a little will hurt us more
The daily struggle of this Fybromyalgia war

Robyn Woods came into my life in around 2010/11 when I was looking for an assistant for my fairly new dog-care business, Leader of the Pack Dog Services ( https://www.lotpdogbehaviour.co.uk/ ). Things were starting to get too busy for just myself & my husband & we needed help. We had a number of applicants; but just from Robyn's application email, we already knew she was the one we wanted before she even attended the so-called "interview" process. She was young & VERY shy, but had an exceptional energy.
Before long Robyn wasn't "assistant" but Assistant Manager taking on so many important roles in handling & assessing dogs & even planning & decision-making for the business. Even the unthinkable (for me!) happened -  I would actually allow her to manage group dog walks of up to 16 dogs (with the help of our other wonderful assistant Chelsea) - without me there! 
Her skills just grew & grew & I could even trust her to run the business while I was (finally!) able to go on holiday. Robyn would always put herself out - do more, stay later, be there for us all the time & do whatever it takes to get the job done. She was a God-Send & she is still  a very special friend. 
In 2014 Robyn & I made our dream come true & attend the Fundamentals 1 training course with the one-&-only Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) out in L.A. I will never forget the moment that it was Robyn's turn to walk a pack of dogs for Cesar to assess. Most of the rest of us were given advice as to how to improve, but his only words to Robyn were "You're a Natural!" 

At around that time Robyn was often off sick from work, never quite sure what was wrong with her. She was even ill on arrival for Cesar's course, having to skip the introduction evening & meal because she was in bed in the hotel room. Over the next few years her incidents of illness increased, her symptoms got worse & she went through test after test after test trying to find out what was wrong. I kept hoping that it was all stress-related & could be cured - but in 2018 it finally became clear - Robyn has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis AND Fybromyalgia. 

In August last year, without actually daring to utter the words out loud, Robyn & I realised that she could no longer work for me - she was just too ill. Indeed, currently Robyn can no longer work at all & struggles to make ends meet. What hits Robyn even worse is that she is rarely well enough to even walk her own dogs, who are now suffering through her illness. This is the ultimate tragedy for Robyn - being unable to fulfill her own dogs' needs, when she used to be SO skilled with every & any dog in her hands.

This is where YOU come in fellow dog-people. Robyn needs mobility to be able to be the Pack Leader she truly is & give her dogs the life they deserve.  I'm hoping that with the money she can acquire whatever mobility equipment she needs to be as much the old Robyn as she can. Robyn is just 25 years old. 



PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give as little or as much as you can - just GIVE something.