Service dog for Melinda
Donation protected
On March 17th, 2017 I was involved in a major motorcycle accident. I sustained multiple injuries. One of the injuries was an open compound fracture of my left ulna and radius. On March 18th, 2017 I underwent surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center where they performed an open reduction-internal fixation to both the ulna and radius. We thought that was it and I was sent home to heal.
Now fast forward to December 21st, 2017. I had been referred by my orthopedic surgeon to see a pain doctor because everything in the X-rays and MRI’s showed my arm had been healing accordingly, but yet it continued to swell two times its normal size and would change to this ugly purple color. That day I was diagnosed with a chronic pain condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 2 (CRPS). CRPS, A.K.A. The suicide disease, is a progressive disease of the Autonomic Nervous System, and more specifically, the Sympathetic Nervous System. The pain is characterized as constant, extremely intense, and out of proportion to the original injury. The pain is typically accompanied by swelling, skin changes, extreme sensitivity, and can often be debilitating. CRPS is ranked as the most painful form of chronic pain that exists today by the McGill Pain Index.
Many of my family and friends know that since my diagnosis I have had to end my law enforcement career. What most don’t know is both my pain management teams have told me that I will never be able to pursue that career path again due to the types of medical treatments and devices I will have implanted in my body in order to control my everyday pain.
With that said, our family has been through enough and we still have a long ways to go and in order to make life a little easier, it had been suggested to us that I look into getting a service dog. The amount of money we are asking for is to help with the initial cost of the program in order to get us started. I do plan on coming up with another sort of hands on type of fundraiser in the future, but for now I just wanted to share my story on why we are going this route.
I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time and (hopefully) readings through all of this. I have compiled a list of tasks that a service dog will be able to provide for me. It will be posted in the comment section to view. Please remember that having a service dog isn’t about being able to bring a dog everywhere, it’s about having a piece of medical equipment that will help make my life more accessible.
Love you all,
Alex & Melinda
Now fast forward to December 21st, 2017. I had been referred by my orthopedic surgeon to see a pain doctor because everything in the X-rays and MRI’s showed my arm had been healing accordingly, but yet it continued to swell two times its normal size and would change to this ugly purple color. That day I was diagnosed with a chronic pain condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 2 (CRPS). CRPS, A.K.A. The suicide disease, is a progressive disease of the Autonomic Nervous System, and more specifically, the Sympathetic Nervous System. The pain is characterized as constant, extremely intense, and out of proportion to the original injury. The pain is typically accompanied by swelling, skin changes, extreme sensitivity, and can often be debilitating. CRPS is ranked as the most painful form of chronic pain that exists today by the McGill Pain Index.
Many of my family and friends know that since my diagnosis I have had to end my law enforcement career. What most don’t know is both my pain management teams have told me that I will never be able to pursue that career path again due to the types of medical treatments and devices I will have implanted in my body in order to control my everyday pain.
With that said, our family has been through enough and we still have a long ways to go and in order to make life a little easier, it had been suggested to us that I look into getting a service dog. The amount of money we are asking for is to help with the initial cost of the program in order to get us started. I do plan on coming up with another sort of hands on type of fundraiser in the future, but for now I just wanted to share my story on why we are going this route.
I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time and (hopefully) readings through all of this. I have compiled a list of tasks that a service dog will be able to provide for me. It will be posted in the comment section to view. Please remember that having a service dog isn’t about being able to bring a dog everywhere, it’s about having a piece of medical equipment that will help make my life more accessible.
Love you all,
Alex & Melinda
Fundraising team: Fundraising team (2)
Melinda Invergo
Organizer
Bandera, TX
Alex Invergo
Team member
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