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 its typical level of 70, she says, “It just keeps going down, and it happens really, really quickly.” The crash can leave her dizzy, sweaty, confused, jittery, or even unconscious. She recalls friends stopping by, saying they couldn’t reach her by phone, but she hadn’t even realized she had blacked out.

Commence Googling. Crystal Gail found Can Do Canines online and recently began her adventure with Diabetes Assist Dog Pierce, making them our organization’s 900th team. Within the first hour of training with Pierce, Crystal Gail knew her life was about to change…because her blood sugar began to change. She describes Pierce’s reaction as, “Wait, I know that smell. I notice something wrong with you.” She responded to his alert with, “Oh, is that what you do? Because I like that.”

And alert, he does! Pierce’s help is needed after every time Crystal Gail eats. Although she knows a decline is coming, she can’t predict the timing and be proactive. Luckily, her monitor, in the form of a yellow Lab, is always aware of her sugar levels. “Pierce detects it at 69.” She then restores her sugar level with either juice or milk that has cornstarch in it but explains that it’s always a balance of the right amount at exactly the right time. “Because he's able to catch it so fast, the likelihood of me having the symptoms like what I experienced prior to getting him is no longer. He catches it sooner than I can, which feels really good. But then it also kind of feels weird because I don't even know that about my body. I don't even feel it until it's too late, but he senses it.”

Pierce can also get juice for her, snag a medical bag, or press a button in her room to call a fellow staff member at the boarding school where she works to come and assist her. Admittedly, he tries to work the system at times, bringing her everything in her room she might want in the hopes of getting rewarded for his efforts. She shakes her head at his attempts. “I'm like, ‘Bro, stop it. Like, just chill.’”

Also a bit “chilled” these days is Crystal Gail’s writing/backpacking career. Her diagnosis prompted her to accept employment at a K-12 school, where Pierce lives with her on campus. She continues doing freelance writing, and she and Pierce take multiple long walks every day. “We're still building up to where we'll be hiking partners,” she says, explaining that Pierce is still comparing some outdoor smells to those he detects from her. Yet, she asserts, “We're definitely going to go on a backpacking trip. I have 600 miles to finish on the Pacific Crest Trail. I don't know that we can do the 600 miles this summer. We might be able to do three and then three next year, but I intend to finish that.” 

This duo will likely embark on plenty of upcoming expeditions. “With Pierce, I can do the things I love and do them in the way that I love,” she says. “When you have friends and family who are like, ‘We worry about you,’ then that puts additional stress on you.” Pierce eases those concerns.

Crystal Gail is “most grateful for peace of mind and a greater sense of independence and less reliance on others.” However, she declined to express gratitude for Can Do Canines volunteers and supporters through this article…for good reason. As a writer herself, she says, “That's my one gift that I want to give, and I want that one thing to come from me as a person.” So, she has written a thank-you letter for you to read at can-do.link/CG-Letter.

Now, as she experiences a rare “high”—that of having Pierce—she is clearly sincere when saying, “I'm really happy to have this guy.”

 

Thank you to all those who made this partnership possible:
Whelping Home — The Nervick Family
Raisers — Olivia Goonan, Peter Olson
Special Thanks — Federal Correctional Institution-Waseca, University of MN FETCH Program
Name-A-Puppy Donor — Laura and Mike Pierce