Sixteen-year-old Sydney Rohmann has a number of rare conditions that have left her in a wheelchair. Among them are Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
She has even had brain surgery to treat Chiari malformation, a condition where brain tissue grows into the spinal column causing balance problems. The symptoms of EDS have left Sydney with hypermobile joints, and the POTS causes her blood pressure to drop when she attempts to stand up.
Like most people approaching their 20s, Sydney longs for independence.
And now she has help from an unlikely source–Dutch, her new service dog.
When Sydney was at a friend’s house, she suddenly fainted, but 30 seconds before the episode, her friend’s service dog barked to alert her she was in danger of fainting. That was enough to convince Sydney and her parents of a service dog’s potentially life-saving value.
Enter Dutch, a labradoodle puppy, and Sydney’s new best friend. The two met last fall, and it was love at first sight. Ever since, Dutch has been in service dog training, which takes about eight months to complete.
The lovely labradoodle will help Sydney open doors and alert her to sit or lay down if she is going to faint. He will also help her have increased mobility to walk and move more independently.
