Help Taplan Get Her Service Dog!
Donation protected
My name is Taplan and I'm a 26 year old living in the sunny State of Florida. In September of 2007, I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Hypermobile Type at Johns Hopkins Medicine by geneticist Dr. Howard P Levy. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that effects every part of my body. Connective tissue acts as the netting that holds the body together, the average person’s connective tissue is woven tightly, however, people with Ehlers Danlos have loosely woven connective tissue. While there are six different types of EDS, my type effects every aspect of my body but mostly my joints. I experience frequent instability even when walking. I’m prone to injuries such as dislocated joints and torn tendons and ligaments. I also experience vascular abnormalities such as extremely low blood pressure and occasional fainting, due to a common comorbidity to Ehlers Danlos called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
Luckily, after my diagnosis, I’ve been careful with my activities to avoid injury and I was 100% pain free. Unfortunately, in 2015, I was involved in an accident that dislocated my hip and severely injured my back. Because of EDS I haven’t been able to follow the standard course treatment that the average person can and I’ve suffered with chronic pain and mobility issues since. My chronic pain has affected my mental health and intensified problems with anxiety and PTSD in the last couple of years.
Both my doctors treating my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS, and my therapist have recommended getting a service dog, and I have finally been given the opportunity to do so. Having a dog will not only open up coping skills for mental health that I don’t have access to, but will also help me with daily tasks like carrying groceries, picking up dropped items, and getting prepared food from my kitchen on bad pain days. The dog will also be able to alert me when my BP drops, a common occurance because of a comorbid that commonly occurs in patients with EDS, so that I'm less likely to lose conciousness. This training comes at a cost. Not only is there an adoption fee for the dog, but I will need to make a donation to the non-profit organization that will be training the dog for the first year of its life. Having a service dog would bring me closer to the life I used to live and miss so much before this injury. Below is a financial breakdown of the costs associated with adopting and training the dog.
Adoption Fee: $3500
Training Donation: $6000
Veterinary Costs in First Year: $1000
Food costs in First year: $300
Articles and posts about EDS and POTS:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/think-like-a-doctor-hurting-all-over-solved/
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/05/elastic-girl-living-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-170514115635143.html
http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=30
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/26/health/pots-tori-nick-foles-dysautonomia/index.html
Luckily, after my diagnosis, I’ve been careful with my activities to avoid injury and I was 100% pain free. Unfortunately, in 2015, I was involved in an accident that dislocated my hip and severely injured my back. Because of EDS I haven’t been able to follow the standard course treatment that the average person can and I’ve suffered with chronic pain and mobility issues since. My chronic pain has affected my mental health and intensified problems with anxiety and PTSD in the last couple of years.
Both my doctors treating my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS, and my therapist have recommended getting a service dog, and I have finally been given the opportunity to do so. Having a dog will not only open up coping skills for mental health that I don’t have access to, but will also help me with daily tasks like carrying groceries, picking up dropped items, and getting prepared food from my kitchen on bad pain days. The dog will also be able to alert me when my BP drops, a common occurance because of a comorbid that commonly occurs in patients with EDS, so that I'm less likely to lose conciousness. This training comes at a cost. Not only is there an adoption fee for the dog, but I will need to make a donation to the non-profit organization that will be training the dog for the first year of its life. Having a service dog would bring me closer to the life I used to live and miss so much before this injury. Below is a financial breakdown of the costs associated with adopting and training the dog.
Adoption Fee: $3500
Training Donation: $6000
Veterinary Costs in First Year: $1000
Food costs in First year: $300
Articles and posts about EDS and POTS:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/think-like-a-doctor-hurting-all-over-solved/
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/05/elastic-girl-living-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-170514115635143.html
http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=30
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/26/health/pots-tori-nick-foles-dysautonomia/index.html
Organizer
Taplan Endres
Organizer
Melbourne, FL
