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Coventry, Ohio —
After a July 2006 diving accident left 2003 Coventry graduate Megan Thomas permanently wheelchair-bound, the once independent young woman was left to wonder how she would manage without the constant help of family and friends.
Thomas said that the accident, which happened after she dove into a shallow part of Turkeyfoot Lake, left her a c-5 complete quadriplegic. Thomas said she is able to move her arms, but not her hands, and she has no feeling below her collarbone.
“My accident has completely changed my outlook on life,” Thomas said. “I was much more of a complainer before, always moaning and griping. My accident was a big slap in the face for me for how hard it really can be.”
Just months after the accident, in October of 2006, Thomas lost her mom to a battle with breast cancer, causing her to rely even more on the help of others.
“Since my accident my main goal was to be independent again,” Thomas said. “When my mom died, there was a giant question of ‘Where was I going to go?’”
That’s when a good friend helped Thomas pick up the pieces, a gesture she will never forget.
Classmate Patrick Donaldson and his parents, Kathy and Corey, stepped up and helped the young woman repair her life. After relying on the family for a couple of years, Thomas decided to move to San Diego, Calif. where she eventually would have the good fortune of meeting Barry, a black lab who will become her service dog in the coming months.
“I did move to San Diego because of the weather, the less elements you have to deal with while in a chair the better, but I wouldn't say that my move affected my choice to get a service dog,” Thomas said. “Ever since my accident I've talked about everything from a service penguin to a service monkey, always knowing I would get a dog.”
Thomas said the process of getting a service dog is somewhat tiresome and expensive, and cost her over $2,000. She now works
in tech support at a company called GraceDigitalAudio, said that her job pays the bills, but she often falls short when it comes to financing her handicap needs, so she decided to begin a fundraising effort.
Much to her surprise, Thomas was able to raise the money in just two weeks and three days, with the help of family, friends and complete strangers through Facebook and a fundraising Web site called Piryx.
After a July 2006 diving accident left 2003 Coventry graduate Megan Thomas permanently wheelchair-bound, the once independent young woman was left to wonder how she would manage without the constant help of family and friends.
Thomas said that the accident, which happened after she dove into a shallow part of Turkeyfoot Lake, left her a c-5 complete quadriplegic. Thomas said she is able to move her arms, but not her hands, and she has no feeling below her collarbone.
“My accident has completely changed my outlook on life,” Thomas said. “I was much more of a complainer before, always moaning and griping. My accident was a big slap in the face for me for how hard it really can be.”
Just months after the accident, in October of 2006, Thomas lost her mom to a battle with breast cancer, causing her to rely even more on the help of others.
“Since my accident my main goal was to be independent again,” Thomas said. “When my mom died, there was a giant question of ‘Where was I going to go?’”
That’s when a good friend helped Thomas pick up the pieces, a gesture she will never forget.
Classmate Patrick Donaldson and his parents, Kathy and Corey, stepped up and helped the young woman repair her life. After relying on the family for a couple of years, Thomas decided to move to San Diego, Calif. where she eventually would have the good fortune of meeting Barry, a black lab who will become her service dog in the coming months.
“I did move to San Diego because of the weather, the less elements you have to deal with while in a chair the better, but I wouldn't say that my move affected my choice to get a service dog,” Thomas said. “Ever since my accident I've talked about everything from a service penguin to a service monkey, always knowing I would get a dog.”
Thomas said the process of getting a service dog is somewhat tiresome and expensive, and cost her over $2,000. She now works
in tech support at a company called GraceDigitalAudio, said that her job pays the bills, but she often falls short when it comes to financing her handicap needs, so she decided to begin a fundraising effort.
Much to her surprise, Thomas was able to raise the money in just two weeks and three days, with the help of family, friends and complete strangers through Facebook and a fundraising Web site called Piryx.
She said that Barry, who will come from a San Diego-based organization called Paws'itive Teams, will do things for her like open and close doors, pick up dropped items, help with dressing and undressing, apply pressure and heat to her legs to decrease spasticity and many other tasks.
“I've had to learn how to stop things halfway through because I dropped something or have to call the neighbors to move the giant package UPS just left outside my door,” Thomas said. “With Barry, I won't have to bruise my pride as much by inconveniencing another when Barry enjoys and gets a thrill out of helping.”
Now that she has raised the money to officially get Barry, it will take between four and five months for him to go through a period of “transition training” where he will learn to focus on Thomas’ specific needs. Thomas said she is excited to have the help, but also to begin a life-long friendship with the special pet.
“Having Barry as a family member to share the sunny beach with will be a nice change,” Thomas said.
The help will be a welcome novelty for the young California transplant.
“Although I have learned and adapted to life as it is without Barry, he will give me more independence and help me become more efficient at my existing abilities and less frustrated with life,” Thomas said, adding that she is extremely grateful to all the people who helped both perpetuate the fundraising effort and donated to the cause.
“Without the support of my friends and family I know I wouldn't reach any of my goals, let alone getting Barry,” Thomas said.
Though Barry will be a big step in aiding Thomas with her physical disabilities, she will soon be forced to raise more money so that she can purchase a standing frame to build her bone density back up, to avoid osteoporosis. That equipment will cost her about another $2,000. To give to Thomas’ cause, visit http://giving.piryx.com/streams/Megan-Thomas/Help-Megan-get-Barry-/bI1FQYoH/default#c111048.
