[Noisebridge-discuss] OT: Service dog help?

[Sai]

As some of you are aware, though perhaps not fully, I have a somewhat
serious episodic neurological disability.

It causes everything from severe muscle spasms & weakness, to being
functionally blind in bright light (I need to use a guide cane when it's
sunny), to being totally paralyzed for ~30m-5h (sometimes unable to even
swallow).

There's no cure and it's only partially treatable. Medication is a tradeoff
between spasms / tachycardia / high blood pressure on the one hand and
atonia / drowsiness / ADD on the other. I'm at about the optimal balance
now, which is better than without, but not great.

I should probably get a service dog. It would make a significant impact on
my ability to live independently (and has a nonzero but unknown chance of
saving my life someday).

The problem is whether I can raise enough money to do so. I'm pretty much
broke, with no significant income, and the costs are ~$USD 10-25k upfront
and ~$USD 2.5-5k/yr. The first part is in donations to a non-profit (the
place that raises & trains service dogs), the second is out of pocket
expenses.

If you or your employer could help (or you know someone who could), please
take a second to fill out the survey below. I'm not asking for donations
now — just trying to figure out what my options are.

Survey:
http://goo.gl/forms/baLN39rEa1

Apologies for the totally off topic post; it'll be the only one.

If you have questions / comments, please feel free to email me offlist.
Feel free to share / forward.

Thanks in advance,
- Sai
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