New Children's Book: Pawsibly The Best Medicine
My name is Amy. I am a single mom to one persistent son and the proud human companion to Dolly Pawton, my wonderful service dog. As it happens, both saved my life, each in their own way. In my new children's book, Pawsibly The Best Medicine, I tell the story of Dolly Pawton's journey to becoming a full-fledged service dog and her adventures in helping people with disabilities.
My Life Before My Service Dog
When my son was about seven years old, I went into the hospital with excruciating stomach pains. When the doctors checked me out, they chalked it up to a kidney infection. The doctors were getting ready to release me when my son butted in the conversation saying, "You can't send her home. She's passing out."
The doctors informed my son that I was probably just getting light-headed. He looked directly at the doctor and said, "Excuse me sir, but she's passing out! She's out for two commercials." On that note, the doctor sent me for a CAT-Scan where I went into cardiac arrest. This is where and when my life changed forever. Not only did my son save my life, the doctors determined that I was in an adrenal crisis. This is a life-threatening condition caused by insufficient levels of cortisol, a hormone produced and released by the adrenal gland.
I was in the hospital for quite a while. When I was finally released to go home it was with the condition that I would use a wheelchair. In the beginning it was just on and off. As time went on, the doctors insisted that I use the wheelchair all the time because I keep passing out each time I stood up. Reoccurring concussions are not a good thing.
Now-a-days I am usually in pain and face many physical challenges on a daily basis because of multiple medical conditions. I get tired very easily so I try to set simple goals that can be reached. Often times I reach the goals but then end up sick for a week or more, a frustrating situation as I am a very independent person. I have always been active and very athletic so it's hard for me to slow down even when my body is telling me otherwise.
Assistance Animals Help to Reclaim Normal Daily Living
Every day, I am thankful that I have a service dog. Dolly is just a year and a half and still in training, but she provides me with the assistance that I need.
She is a big block head black Labrador puppy full of energy. Dolly is a hard worker that loves to learn and is very eager to please. She helped me get my life back. I use to be a full-time single mom, but now my son is grown and has a place of his own. I wanted a life where people don't stare, or ask a lot of questions and pass judgment about me. Before having a service dog, I went out very little and it was hard to do everything on my own. I was less outgoing. I had an active life prior to my illness, so I'm trying to remain as active as my body will allow. With Dolly's help, I am able to do just that.
Dolly helps me function without having to depend on others. She does so much for me, like helping with the laundry, taking my socks off, paying for things in the store and, most importantly, monitoring my health for safety reasons and letting me know if there is a concern.
She is trained to alert me if my blood pressure drops or my heart rate rises to an unsafe level. Dolly will lay across my lap when my blood pressure is low and that helps to raise it. Dolly was a normal, misbehaving puppy but she has turned into a wonderful service dog. Even though she is still in training, she is very smart. She gives me unconditional love and helps me in every aspect of my life. She is truly my most crucial medical equipment with a loving, beating heart. I don't know what I would do without her in my life.
Pawsibly The Best Medicine is a biography of Dolly told with a bit of humorous fiction. I photo-shopped actual pictures as the illustrations. This book was written to help raise money to pay for her training and you can find it on Amazon. Dolly also has a Facebook page so her sponsors and friends can watch her as she grows into a service dog. Dolly attended her first Abilities Expo when she was just 8 weeks old and she looks forward to coming back for years to come!
