Becca's Dream

At twenty six becca has watched

everyone she knew; sibs, friends,

neighbors grow up and move on with

their life. The most heart wrenching

times for me are when she verbalizes

her awareness of what she does not

have.The times when Becca would

cry at the door after her sister left;

“I want to be Beth, I want to be Beth.”

 

This is a young woman who has long

needed a companion, a treasure,

whose stay would not be as brief as all

the other wonderful people who

                                                                                 have passed through her life.

 

Becca has always been resistant to transitioning from one activity to another.

If we do not set the right hook before trying to get her to do something else she

frequently becomes combative. Not a problem if we are both home as she is easily

distractible. But, if only one person is here problems arise because when she is

focused on getting you, she is not open to distractions you present.

 

We need that treasured companion. A small behavior mod intervention from a

4 paws dog will remove the potential of the caregiver being physically harmed

by redirecting Becca’s focus, calming Becca, and thus alleviating unnecessary

stress from the whole family’s life.

 

On one side of our home there is a

town house complex full of nooks

and crannies to walk into and plenty

of car traffic. Across the street is a

forest preserve complete with lakes. 

 I can not tell you the panic I feel

on those occasions when she

escapes and is out of view before

I get out the door. Which way do

I go first? Which way did she go?

 

A mall escape is even scarier. Being

only four foot ten inches if you blink

or look at a display for fifteen seconds

she can disappear amidst the racks.

Her dog would also be used to

tether her to me.  So I could actually stop and look at an item without her vanishing.

 She could actually come with me instead of being left behind at home;

excluded once again. -I have stopped taking her shopping with me because she

has disappeared for forty five minutes at a clip in the mall. My heart can’t take

that anymore.-

Our lives are based in trust. Becca trusts us to meet her needs and to protect her,

as her service dog will trust her to meet their needs (room to grow in responsibility)

and as we trust God to meet ours.

It is time for Becca to have a BFF and the improved life a service dog can provide.

It is past time to have help identifying devastating night time seizures. It is time to be

alerted to those quiet devastating seizures, to be able to obtain middle of the night

medical intervention when necessary.

If you wish to help Becca now, send your tax deductible check to

                    4PAWS for Ability, Inc.

                    253 Dayton Ave.

                    Xenia, OH 45385  

with her name, Rebecca Tally, in the memo line.