Meeting Tagert for the first time. This is how it all began and my life changed for the better. I woke up one morning with a
cold. Nothing out of the ordinary. I took some over the counter medicine and went to work. I kept telling myself that it will get better in a few days,
eat right get some sleep. I will be better in a week. The week came and went and I was no better. I went to the doctor, my temperature was 103.7. So I was
admitted to the hospital with an unknown diagnosis. I was hospitalized for eight days. They were unable to pin point a cause. While in there I had an
allergic reaction to most of the medications, they colluded the results and caused further delays. I was released from the hospital still not sure what
was wrong. I came home and I started acting funny a couple weeks later. I could not remember names of things I knew. I would pick up the phone only to
forget whom I was calling or the number. I could not remember words as I was having a conversation and I would get lost easily. I had an incident
one-day. I walked around mumbling and picking at my clothes in a daze. My roommate told me to go and sit and I would for a second and than get back up.
I did not remember any of this. Obviously there was some thing wrong. Well the next day we called the doctor and asked what this could be. My doctor
referred me to a neurologist at the University of Chicago who performed a sleep deprived EEG and the dreaded spinal tap. Eureka we had a Diagnosis:
Viral encephalitis caused by the Epstein barrvirus which started this all. And now has turned into epilepsy. Now that the doctors knew what it was, all
they had to do was give me a pill and I would be fine. Not so easy. The road to recovery has taken four years and I am still fighting. I was diagnosed
with Complex Partial and Absence seizures. Unable to do common everyday tasks associated with leading a normal life, I started to become a recluse. Getting
lost in as strange town is OK. Getting lost in your own apartment complex is a different matter. Frightened and disoriented almost every time I left the
house, it was easier to just stay home. Divine intervention in the form of an angel with paws instead of wings. Came into my life. His name is Tagert
a black lab with a special gift. He can sense an epileptic seizure before it happens. He is a seizure alert service dog. He has a 10-20 minutes lead-time.
On February 20 1998 I met Tagert for the first time. Love at first sight mixed with apprehension. Was this what I really needed? Having a large dog
with a neon sign that says ATTENTION; WE ARE DIFFERENT LOOK AT US! Plastered on both sides of a harness for the whole world to see. One look into those
eyes told the story. As we went through out our paces I had to struggle to keep up. This large black ball of energy was forcing me to do something that
I was not sure I was ready to do. Rejoin the human race. The past few months have been a learning experience for both of us. All I have to do is look into
those large brown eyes and the encouragement in them tells me I can do anything. Anything I ever dreamed of. Tagert gave me back my mobility,
Dignity, independence made a real appreciation for the things in life that I used to take for granted. He is everything that I ever dreamed of and more.
So very much more that I have made room for three. I have since all of this met a wonderful man that does not mind that I have disabilities and a
dog who follows me everywhere I go. I am a Public speaker now on service dogs and Epilepsy. I took a negative and turned it into a positive. Thanks to
Tagert I have my life back and I am soon to be starting a new life. THANKS TAGERT YOU�RE THE BEST. Even if you can't read this.
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Smokey's Assistance Dogs Foundation
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Revised: June 26, 2005
