My name is Lovísa and I have epilepsy.
I have hit a point in my health where my neurologist is no longer comfortable with me not having a lifeline of sorts, and moving in with family or friends and having someone constantly around and with me is sadly just not an option.
So after a lot of deliberation with my doctors and the appropriate organization and their people, we have decided an assistance dog is the best option for me.
The work that goes towards getting an assistance dog in Iceland is an incredibly expensive, strict and long process, and it is taxing but so worth it in cases like this.
I am personally disabled and completely unable to work due to my illnesses, and am on disability. Therefore it is absolutely impossible for me to fund this assistance dog on my own if i want to do it within the next 10 years. So i am reaching out for support, no matter what form that support is (financial, advice regarding assistance dogs or training, a share, an encouraging comment, anything!). Any and all support is welcome! ❤️
Crowdfunding is a sore subject because asking for help is so incredibly difficult. But after talking with friends and family I see I need to recognize its okay to need help sometimes. This will be my second attempt of an assistance dog but this time we are going through actual professionals and under better guidance and I have high hopes for this.
There is no magic number but training alone (base training and then training with the assistance dog trainer) will most likely be costing a minimum of 500000 ISK (approx 3500 USD) and that is excluding the cost of the dog itself and everything else the process entails. I will be paying for as much as I can myself but realistically I need help with this.
Coming to terms with my epilepsy has been an impossible process, since I was diagnosed as an adult absolutely out of nowhere. Having my life turned upside down and trying to adjust to this new reality of my epilepsy not being controlled anymore is hard and terrifying.
There are a lot of unknowns and having the reassurance of an assistance dog will help me immensely, both in keeping me safe if (when) something happens, giving my family peace of mind, and making me feel safer in this reality.
Sadly I only have PayPal for my foreign friends, but please dont worry if you cant donate!
As ive said, every type of support is welcome. No gesture is too small ❤️