Hello friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers,
My name is Devin, and I’m a wife, a stay-at-home mama, and someone learning to navigate a complicated and often invisible battle with chronic illness. I’ve been diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and MCAS, and am suspected to also have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), ME/CFS, and chronic Epstein-Barr, I am just awaiting further testing.
Most days, I look fine from the outside. But these conditions can cause extreme fatigue, weakness, dizziness, fainting, and sudden blood pressure and blood sugar crashes that leave me disoriented or even unconscious—sometimes with no warning. That’s a scary reality when I’m alone at home with my toddler. Currently, I am unable to drive and have been confined to my home for nearly six months now because these episodes happen with so little warning.
Recently, I was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring home a fully trained medical alert service dog—a 2-year-old Rough Collie named Zola. She’s gentle, calm, and trained to detect changes in blood sugar and autonomic function related to conditions like POTS, far sooner than my body is able to detect those changes. She’s the exact kind of support I need to regain safety, stability, and peace of mind.
Zola is a rare match for my situation—and she’s available at a deeply discounted rate of $9,900 (far below the usual $25K–$40K for a dog with her level of training). But we don’t have that kind of money lying around, and her placement is time-sensitive. I need to raise the funds within the next month in order to bring her home.
Aside from her cost, we also need to raise additional funds to cover the round-trip flights, car rental, and lodging/food involved with meeting and picking her up. All of these come to an additional $4,000.
This is hard for me to ask—but I’m asking. If you feel led to support our family, every donation—no matter the size—brings me closer to a safer, more independent life. Even if you can’t give, simply sharing this with others can make a huge difference.
Thank you for reading, praying, supporting, and sharing. With your help, Zola can come home and be the life-changing companion I didn’t even know I needed until now.
With deepest gratitude,
Devin
