Hello,
my name is Sarah and I am a 19 year old college student in NYC. I also work part time at an internship in video games (my passion!).
I've had Myasthenia Gravis, a neuro-muscular disease, since I was 15 years old. Well...I was diagnosed at 15, I'm sure I had it before then.
I've always been one of those "I can do it myself!" types of people. In High School my school forced me to have a paraprofessional follow me everywhere because I passed out in the bathroom from muscle weakness and not being able to breathe. I was constantly teased about it.
Now that I'm in college, I've had that sort of independence I've always craved. I have done my degree in three years instead of the usual four by taking extra classes and summer classes, so I will be graduating in May 2012.
My biggest issue is that, for a 19 year old student, my mother helps me with a lot more than she should have to. I take medication every three hours that she has to give me in the morning if I am too weak to get out of bed. She drives me everywhere she can because I have difficulty going long distances on my own. I can't drive myself because of Duanes Syndrome (a six nerve palsy in my eyes).
When I go from Staten Island (where I live) to my internship in Manhattan, I take public transportation. I have a hard time going down and up stiars and often trip because I can't tell them apart (the duanes syndrome) and the walking often gets to me, and I find myself tripping over my own two feet, dropping items that suddenly become too heavy to carry, or walking into poles that I think I'm walking next to but I'm actually walking into.
On a good day, the only thing you notice about me is that I hold my head in a funny way. Due to the duanes, and the ocular part of the myasthenia gravis, I can not see straight without seeing double, so I have to hold my head to the left and turn my eyes right in order to see straight. Every complication i have from the Myasthenia Gravis is not superficial, so many people often question me about actually being disabled. (when I need a special seat in the classroom or on the subway).
I recently found "Canine Partners for Life" in PA and I am in the process of filling out the application. They had myasthenia gravis listed on their website, so I immediately started to fill out paperwork.
Originally I thought service dogs were just for people with severe disabilities or that were blind/deaf. Then I met a man on the subway with a service dog for PTS and he explained to me that they could be used in a lot of different ways.
I guess what I'm getting at is...at 19, I get by with my mother taking care of me. She is 56 and when I graduate, I plan on getting a full time job and living on my own. I don't think I'd be able to safely live on my own...or...at least...I wouldn't be able to be as active as I am today, or able to get around as much as I do without the help of my mother. My quest for a service dog is to help me be an independent person.
Do you guys think I should continue the service dog process? I'm nervous that if they accept my application and I go for an interview, they will question my validity as I do not look outwardly disabled.
Thank you!
Topic: Applying for a Service Dog... (Read 1262 times)