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I don’t believe in giving up. Four years ago, I was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and had two brain surgeries to remove the infection in my brain. I was in a coma for two weeks and was in the hospital from Christmas until Valentine’s Day. When I slowly began to recover, there were a lot of things I had to learn all over again. One of the most challenging things to re-learn was walking. I was angry when I saw other people walking so easily when it was so hard for me to even stand and keep my balance. I fell frequently, and I was frustrated by the constant failure. But I wasn’t about to give up. I decided to turn my frustration into a stubborn refusal to quit. After several weeks of trying, I walked again, and three months later, I went back to school part time.

By last fall, four years after my illness, I was back at school most days, though I left early or had to stay home a lot because of bad headaches and fatigue. (You know the graphic of a battery charging that shows the battery at 70%? That 70% is where my energy level is when my battery is “full.”) But again, I refused to give up. I worked hard and stayed on the honor roll, and sometimes I hung out with my friends. My life was becoming more normal.

Then I developed epilepsy. Since then, it's been very difficult to hang out with my friends or (pre-Covid), to go to school regularly because I never know when I'm going to have a seizure. But I’m determined to succeed—to stay on the honor roll, to go to college, and to study either medicine or law. A seizure alert dog will keep me safe by letting me know when I’m going to have a seizure. With the dog’s help, I’ll be able to return to a more normal life and have some independence as I progress from high school to college and work hard to reach my goals. I can’t wait to meet (and pick out outfits for) my little angel!

Thank you, in advance, for helping me and kids like me by supporting Little Angels Service Dogs. To donate, please click the blue donate button on this page.