“I could do anything,” Ruth says of her seemingly normal life before 2020. Then, a minor injury changed everything. While working with a child with disabilities with their wheelchair, Ruth sprained her left thumb. Strangely, the pain and symptoms didn’t stay contained to her thumb. “My hand blew up the size of a football,” recalls Ruth. Within about a month, a simple sprained thumb turned into something nobody expected as Ruth was diagnosed with the rare condition complex regional pain syndrome. She cites that the pain moved into her arms and then her legs, and she has even experienced strokes …
Feature Stories
A Returned Sense of Security
By Debbie Surman – Barry’s parents learned he was deaf when he was 18 months old. Then, when he was 7, they also learned he had “optic atrophy,” which, ultimately left him legally blind. This combination is called DeafBlind. Although Barry uses hearing aids, high-pitched sounds like doorbells, sirens, phones, etc. are difficult to hear. Plus, optic atrophy causes blurred vision and blind spots, making it difficult for him to see distances or in darkness, and he can easily miss seeing flashing lights. For 13 years, he successfully navigated the challenges with the assistance of his first beloved hearing dog, …
Brad Schleif is Driven to Volunteer
Brad and Mary Beth Schleif began their relationship with Can Do Canines after Mary Beth met founder Al Peters at a nonprofit meeting over 10 years ago. They began hosting dogs, having raised several for more than a year at a time, not to mention many others in between. Then, in September 2022, Brad retired from his job, and his volunteer activity with us really shifted into gear, as he began also transporting dogs to necessary places. Typically his precious cargo includes puppies, often to one of our prisons. Brad says he has driven to six of the different institutions …
Catie Relishes New Role, Now with Virgil
“I am a huge dog-training nerd,” says Catie, referring to her excitement when she, her husband, and their son began hosting dogs in their home as Puppy Program volunteers for Can Do Canines five years ago. With her son in school more then, she explains, “I had some more space in my life to find new ways to engage in the community.” Catie progressed to volunteering at the front desk, being a Volunteer Pack Leader, and serving in other ways. “Whatever was helpful,” she says. Yet Catie didn’t suspect that she would eventually interact with Can Do Canines in a …
Victoria is Learning to Trust Siku for Sounds
Author and educator Stephen Covey is quoted as saying, “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Victoria, who was born with a genetic disorder that has progressively affected her hearing, is being challenged to trust in a new way these days. Victoria’s condition, known as primary ciliary dyskinesia, means that her cilia—the hairlike structures that line internal airways—are not flexible like they should be. So although Victoria began using hearing aids nearly 30 years ago, she has a hard time using them. Her defective cilia …
Pierce Stays on High Alert for Lows
“I’m full of rare stuff,” says Crystal Gail. First came her rare brain disease in 2008, intracranial hypertension, with symptoms that mimic a brain tumor. Then, in 2021, she stumbled upon reactive hypoglycemia. As a professional backpacker paid to write about the regions she explores, Crystal Gail was traversing the Arizona Trail when she began describing the map backward to her fellow travelers and exhibiting other odd behaviors. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with a condition that leaves her blood sugar constantly low. She explains that it’s like having Type 1 diabetes without the highs. When her blood sugar drops below …
Under Kiki’s Direction, Autism Assist Dog Farmer Plays his Biggest Role Ever
By Jorae DuPont – Lights, camera, action! Seven-year-old Kiki loves music, math, and, most of all, making videos. “She’s definitely a director,” says her mom, Keila. “She’s always telling everyone what to do. Where to stand, what to eat. It’s so nice having another actor in the house! [Autism Assist Dog] Farmer is the perfect companion. He is so patient. Kiki asks him to sit, and he sits until she asks him to do something else. She teaches him tricks, then makes a video, complete with sound effects and music.” “Farmer is such a happy dog. He’ll woof and yodel …
An “Angel’s” Four Paws Compensate for Two Hands
“He’s my right-hand man,” says Jan of his Mobility Assist Dog, Logan. Logan, however, compensates not only for Jan’s right hand, but also his left hand and more. Jan developed type 2 diabetes at age 50. Shortly afterward, the condition led to diabetic neuropathy in his hands and feet and eventually, up to his knees and elbows. He explains, “I can’t tell if I’m holding something when I put my hand on it. I know I’m touching it, but I can’t feel how much pressure I’m putting on it, so I drop things a lot.” Balance is also an issue …
Carol Considers Mobility Assist Dog Reva “Too Good to be True”
By Jessica Kellogg – Carol has a presence that can’t be ignored. For many years, her vibrance and enthusiasm allowed her to thrive as a training director of a group home for people with Alzheimer’s. She eventually traveled all over the state to provide Person-Centered training to other caregivers. Then, in 2015, she started having pain and was on her journey to losing her mobility. Carol’s degenerative joint and disc disease got progressively worse until she could no longer work. “The rug got pulled out from under me. I had this cool job helping people with disabilities. Then guess who …
Quinn Brings More Joy, More Life to Geralyn
“You change lives.” That statement comes from Geralyn, thinking of the volunteers and supporters who ensure Can Do Canines can place assistance dogs with those who need them. Geralyn is significantly hard of hearing. She says, “My hearing loss has increased over time, I used to be able to overcome the deficit in my hearing, but it is too great now to be able to do that.” She explains that she doesn’t hear the sounds that many people take for granted, like the doorbell, the phone, and a timer. “It is very stressful to be startled all the time and …
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