I have personally known Angie for just over 20 years now. We have shared a great deal in that time period. I would consider her to not just be my best friend, but as my family, my little sister.
I have travelled by her side throughout her journey towards getting Allan.
In our early friendship, Angie and I had some interesting adventures, travelling around Ontario, meeting many new friends and acquaintances, and some life mates. Angie would always be the adventurous one, first to try something new.
As time moved on, and we aged, Angie started to have some difficulties with her health. It took a while, but finally a diagnosis was reached. Her early onset Parkinson diagnosis. Angie started to become very withdrawn, more home bodied rather than up for the usual adventures from our past. She was constantly hiding from our friends, becoming more and more a hermit.
As the symptoms became more and more visibly apparent, she would refuse invitations to go out, or to even go troop with her beloved 501st troupe.
When Covid hit us, it became more her life to hide in the shadows rather than try and connect to our friends.
The possibility of getting a service dog gave her a bit of a spark of life. It gave her a “crutch” that enabled her to possibly go back to that fun loving person that she once was.
After the acceptance and waiting for the training to begin, she started coming back out of her shell.
After COPE training and when she came home with Allan, things started to noticeably change. Slowly she started to feel more confident, more capable to do things she enjoyed. Angie started to live again. She started to go to her troupe meetings and even some events. You could hear it in her voice more and more how she was enjoying life again.
Her love for animals definitely was shown now with her having Allan. Even on a phone call she would break from the conversation to talk to Allan or get kisses and cuddles from him. She started to do her walks multiple times a day with him. Each week it seemed longer and more productive walks were obtained.
Travelling up to visit her parents in Orillia was two-fold in reason, not just to visit family but to bring Allan up to swim or take longer hikes together in the wilderness. Allan has brought her around to almost being back to the person before the diagnosis.
As her symptoms progress, she is more capable to deal with them. There will always be challenges, but with Allan by her side, she seems able to take them on headfirst. Being more self sufficient now is something that has made her more herself, if that makes sense, she is now more outgoing and smiling from the inside and out. I see her confidence in her demeanor, her smiles, in her voice even over a phone call.
I no longer worry about her as much as before, the pre-Allan stage. Her confidence in herself has returned, and I believe with Allan by her side, she will conquer anything that comes at her.
There is no question that Allan has completely transformed her from post diagnosis hermit to capable Angie again. And for that I am forever grateful to COPE and all the volunteers and of course Allan.