Kentucky dog trainer battling Lyme, Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, ehrlichia AND Powasson virus - Page 1

Hey, if you've got a couple of bucks you can spare, consider helping out this fellow in Kentucky who's battling multiple tick-borne diseases--Lyme, ehrlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Powasson Virus.

Nick Risden is a working dog trainer and breeder who has been knocked out of commission by concurrent infections of those four diseases, which have resulted in encephalitis, meningitis, seizures, and a host of other insults that have left him too weak to do the job he loves and relies on for his livelihood. Treatment will take 9 to 11 months, during which he'll be laid up due to the side effects of the medication and bed rest the protocol mandates for best efficacy.

Nick's health insurance won't cover his treatment by an out-of-state infectious disease specialist, so virtually all expenses are out-of-pocket for him. In just a few weeks, his friends, family and compassionate strangers have managed to raise USD $37,000.00 toward those costs through donations and silent auctions. Right now, he's about $6000.00 short of the amount needed to pre-pay the medication costs for the full protocol; pre-paying for thefull course of antibiotics gives him a significant reduction in the treatment costs over the charges if he pays for them by the session.

There are a couple of ways you can help--follow this link to the WKYT news report on Nick and his situation, and you'll find the whole story, and information on how to help with a cash donation, or by donating an item or service that can be auctioned via the Facebook site, Silent Auction to Support Nick Risden. If you're in the Harrodsburg, KY area, a benefit dinner held in a few weeks, the details of which are forthcoming. The focus for the moment, however, is getting that $6000.00 he needs to pre-pay for the full protocol's supply of antibiotics within the next 9 days, which is when he is due to start his first treatment session. Any donation will help, and if you're not able to contribute that way, you can help by getting the word out that a fellow member of the Tribe of the Dog needs a hand.

Just wanted to update this post, and thank anyone who was able to donate in any way to the fundraising efforts--the good news is that with everyone's help, Nick WAS able to pre-pay for the antibiotics he'll be getting over the course of this lengthy treatment protocol, and travels to Washington, DC this Sunday for the first of his direct infusion sessions, after having a central port IV line installed in his chest today.

He'll have these infusions for the next ten months, in addition to supportive therapy measures involving his nutrition, activity levels, and other medical care necessary to address the physical effects of the illness, which presently and will continue to limit his ability to do the work from which he makes his living--training dogs and operating a boarding kennel--so fundraising will continue as needed. Nick's friends are working hard to organize a variety of events where people can donate toward his expenses but also gain something [other than the good feeling that comes with helping another person] in exchange, such as a nice dinner, or an item they wanted to buy, or gift cards, or taking part in an event that's fun...

Stay tuned for more info on such activities and events--most of them will likely be held in the Harrodsburg, KY area, but the members of his main support 'team' are open to suggestions from other folks who would be willing to work with them for such things held in other places as well! Likewise, the silent auctions will be held again in the future, so if anyone knows of any businesses that would be interested in donating products, services, etc., Nick's team would love to hear from you! PM or email me [click on my user name for either option] and I'll get your info to the team members.

Again, sincere appreciation from everyone who took the time to do whatever they could to help out this fellow, whether you donated, bid on items, or just shared this request. It's up to us to take care of each other, when you get right down to it. No one understands a dog-centric person better than another one!

Anyone who's into fine bourbons and would be interested in attending a bourbon auction in Covington, KY should check out the Bourbon Guys Facebook page for information on how to get in on the benefit raffle for Nick Risden.

This will coincide with the Smooth Ambler Auction in Covington, KY on Nov. 18th. The prize package will include:

--1 night in the Hotel Covington @Hotelcov for 11/18/17 (walking distance from the auction), courtesy of Big John Foster & @SmoothAmbler - $145 value

--Dinner for 2 at Coppin's Restaurant & Bar (at The Hotel Covington) - $80 value

--2 Tickets to the Smooth Ambler Auction at BLDG (within walking distance of the hotel) - $43 value

--1 bottle of The Bourbon Guys private barrel pick of Smooth Ambler Old Scout, the original sale of which benefited The Dragonfly Foundation. - $60 retail value 

AND

--1 Bottle of The Party Source private pick of Smooth Ambler Old Scout 10 Year Bourbon #4117 - courtesy of The Party Source! ($55 Retail Value)

####Tickets are $20 each or 3 for $50.
PayPal Friends & Family ONLY to LParece@twc.com

Tickets on sale until drawing on 11/14/17.
Will make any necessary arrangements to get items to winner!