Greetings,

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and about the amazing service of Little Angels Service Dogs. My name is Kaitlyn Wainscott. I am a Migraine/Chronic Illness Warrior. I received my first official diagnosis in 2015 with Migraine after meeting with a neurologist and going over my history, I have most likely been battling Migraine since childhood. On April 1, 2016, my life changed completely starting the beginning of a long arduous journey of self-discovery, embodied awareness, developing inner strength, and a continued building of inner and external resources. Currently there is no cure for Migraine and the other conditions I experience, only management of symptoms. Despite trying various treatment modalities, I have yet to find a way to manage my symptoms enough to regain the life I once lived.

Battling chronic migraine/illness has been exhausting, scary and filled with continuous uncertainty. Each day varies with a cacophony of sensations and experiences conducting my day creating its own unique symphony. Migraine, specifically Vestibular Migraine, has forced me to change my life, my goals and expectations. My daily symptoms have forced me to change careers, stop working, and now slowly develop my path towards offering supported embodied wellness to others. I grieve my past self and the life I thought I could build and have. I have had to give up hobbies and certain independencies. Through several draining years of battle, I eventually found myself majorly depressed and anxious leaving me without the strength to keep fighting or the will to live. It was at this terrifyingly low point that I finally reached out for help after many years of pretending I was okay, downplaying my experience due to fears from stigma and my own cognitive distortions.

Since that day, I have slowly been working to build a sustainable life. This has included trying various medications, therapies, and modifications. Despite my extensive efforts, I am still in need of assistance to get around either holding onto someone or using trekking poles to maintain my balance walking outside of the home. Daily activities around the home drain me easily, especially when I have to bend over to pick something up. Due to the unpredictability of my symptoms and needs, it is impossible to know when and how much assistance I need, limiting me further depending on the resources available to me at a given moment.

After much research and discussions with treatment providers, family and friends, it was determined a service dog would be of great support. I have learned how a service dog can provide mobility assistance, help pick up my frequently dropped things, provide emotional support during challenging times, potentially learn to predict attacks and most importantly help me regain some of my lost independence. To be able to have a service dog would allow me the freedom to get out of the house more and increase the success of my daily endeavors such as doing laundry, grocery shopping, enjoying nature or visiting friends, and supporting others on their wellness journeys. I once used to be very active hiking, swimming, kayaking, yoga, and simply exploring new adventures.

I am truly fortunate to be an approved candidate for a mobility assistance service dog as it is a very selective process. Only 5% of service dogs have the correct temperament and ability to be trained as a mobility assistance dog.

As a result of my research, I found Little Angels Service Dogs. They provide service dogs for training dogs to assist their recipients with Mobility Tasks, Seizure & Diabetic Alert, Hearing Loss, Autism, PTSD, Panic Attacks as well as many other needs. They are a nonprofit organization and are supported financially only through donations. Every donation helps Little Angels Service Dogs reach the goal of training more dogs for recipients like me. The therapeutic benefits of assistance dogs for people with disabilities such as myself are life changing.

Little Angels Service Dogs is an Assistance Dogs International Accredited, 501c3 nonprofit corporation that reaches across all of the United States, partnering service dogs with people living with disabilities. They are dedicated to providing the highest quality dogs to assist in the daily lives of their recipients.

Please consider donating today to Little Angels Service Dogs so that you can help people like me. Lives will continue to be changed for the better, one person at a time, because of donors like you.

If you feel inclined to donate to Little Angels today:

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Little Angels Service Dogs

PO Box 550

Lakeside CA 92040

Little Angels Service Dogs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an Assistance Dogs International (ADI) accreditation. We provide highly trained assistance dogs to help children and adults living with disabilities to live more independent lives. Our mission is to maximize the innate ability of dogs to give the gift of independence to individuals regardless of disability or age.

Our primary purpose is to change the lives of people living with disabilities by helping them live a more independent life. Approximately 13% of Americans are living with disabilities, and less than 1% of that community use service dogs due to a mix of availability, costs, and barriers for service animals that still exist today. Our goal is to overcome those barriers for people living with disabilities to appropriately match service dogs with their recipients.

We train our service dogs to perform specific tasks and behaviors that mitigate the effects of a person's disability, enabling them to lead more autonomous and fulfilling lives. Results of various studies on the impact service dogs have on their owners living with disabilities have indicated that service dog ownership may include benefits like greater social and emotional health, independence, and overall quality of life.

Our service dogs include psychiatric (civilian and military), seizure alert, diabetic alert, hearing assistance, mobility assistance, and autism assistance. We firmly believe that all disabilities should be regarded with equal importance, irrespective of their visibility. Our team acknowledges our responsibility not only to our service dogs but also to the individuals we serve.

My Path Back to Independence

Fundraising for Little Angels Service Dogs