Olivia Eiger is a social teen, who recently celebrated her 17th birthday and is planning to commemorate both her birthday and going into her senior year of high school with a trip to Disneyworld this summer. After school, she likes to watch her favorite shows, Charmed and Vampire Diaries, and Disney movies. She also likes Harry Potter (and is a Hufflepuff!). For the past couple of years, Olivia has taken part in horseback riding as physical therapy and always rides her favorite horse named Fritz.
Right before Olivia’s 13th birthday, Olivia’s mom Erika noticed that Olivia, while left-handed, was using her right hand to do schoolwork. While at the doctor’s, they noticed the stiffness in Olivia's left hand, as well as a change in Olivia’s gait. The doctors diagnosed Olivia with Juvenile Huntington’s Disease, a very rare genetic disease that Olivia’s father had as well. Huntington’s Disease can cause a variety of symptoms, but the hardest one for Olivia is dystonia, which affects her left side. It makes it difficult to walk, mostly because the dystonia causes a head tilt, so Olivia has a hard time seeing where she’s walking. Olivia's mom, Erika, often helps Olivia with everyday tasks, like going up and down stairs, getting dressed, picking up things she's dropped, and walking.
On Monday, June 12th, Olivia will start training at our facility in Hillsborough, NC to learn how to work with her new Assistance Dog from Eyes Ears Nose & Paws. The two-week training includes lectures, training practices, and field trips to places like the mall, restaurants, and the movies! The training is two weeks, and on the third day (June 14th), Olivia will be matched with her forever partner.
To follow Olivia's journey with connecting with her forever companion, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/assistancedogs/