Lilla Lanivich, 14, and her service canine, Lopez, exterior their household’s dwelling in Rochester Hills, Mich. This yr’s center college winner of the NPR Pupil Podcast Problem tells how her golden retriever, Lopez, helped restore her independence.
Emily Elconin for NPR
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Emily Elconin for NPR
Lilla Lanivich and her service canine, Lopez, do every little thing collectively. Whereas Lilla works, paints, sleeps, and learns, Lopez sits quietly and attentively at her ft.
Her rainbow-dyed hair and colourful nails match his rainbow-dyed tail and cream-colored fur.
“I do rainbow make-up, I do rainbow outfits, I really like shade,” Lilla says. “I feel that it makes me in a position to present my character a bit bit.”
Lilla talks about how Lopez has helped her cope with a number of persistent diseases in her podcast Lopez the Rainbow Tailed Service Canine, this yr’s Grand Prize winner for center college in NPR’s Pupil Podcast Problem.
Our judges praised her story for its open and trustworthy portrayal of a teenager dealing with the challenges of debilitating sickness and ache.
“Whereas Lilia’s friends are beginning to experiment with new types of independence and privateness, she is having to forgo loads of that,” says Jonaki Mehta, certainly one of our contest judges this yr and a producer on NPR’s All Issues Thought-about. “And I beloved how she confirmed that Lopez helps her regain a few of that independence again and a few of that privateness again.
Lanivich and Lopez each sport rainbow-dyed hair. “I do rainbow make-up, I do rainbow outfits, I really like shade,” she says.
Emily Elconin for NPR
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Emily Elconin for NPR
The Pupil Podcast Problem, now in its sixth yr, has concerned greater than 90,000 college students from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Lilla’s podcast, together with our highschool Grand Prize winner, to be introduced in September, was chosen from almost 2,000 entries from 45 states.
“That summer time, that sooner or later modified every little thing”
In her podcast, Lilla describes a time when Lopez saved her from falling throughout certainly one of her non-epileptic seizures:
“One time, I used to be standing within the kitchen about to place away groceries. Lopez pawed me and I jumped on the sofa. Earlier than I knew it, I used to be waking up after passing out.”
Lilla, a 14-year-old who lives in Rochester Hills, Mich., north of Detroit, has been recognized with POTS, PANDAS, lyme illness, a connective tissue dysfunction, and lengthy COVID.
“Lilla’s been sick since she was born,” says her mother, Margaret Lanivich, who has been managing her daughter’s well being for Lilla’s complete life. “It simply looks as if each time that one factor would get higher, we might simply get swamped with one other bunch of stuff after which must form of type via that.”
Lopez went via two years of coaching to have the ability to detect Lilla’s seizures earlier than they occur.
Emily Elconin for NPR
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Emily Elconin for NPR
Lilla had surgical procedure when she was 8 to attempt to assist, however different points stored popping up. When she was 10, Lilla remembers, she awakened sooner or later and will not stroll. The medical doctors weren’t in a position to inform her why.
Her dad, Iain Lanivich, remembers it vividly. “I’ve video of her actually the day earlier than,” he says. “Lilla used to play sports activities … used to have interaction in loads of various things. After which rapidly it was simply gone.”
She misplaced mobility for 55 days, and suffered one other episode that lasted 70 days a number of months later.
Lilla’s been homeschooled since 2019, utilizing a wheelchair more often than not, and her dad and mom monitored her consistently — she says she could not even brush her tooth by herself. She had misplaced her independence in a single day, and was quickly shedding social shops.
Her dad and mom turned to on-line help teams, searching for something that might assist their daughter regain some normalcy. One reply got here up again and again: Get a service canine.
Lopez joins the Lanivich household
Lilla tells how, as soon as they chose a pet, they needed to discover a coach and endure nearly two years of intensive coaching with Lopez. The primary yr of his life was simply fundamentals, then they graduated to extra superior issues, like seizure detection.
The Lanivich Household: Drexel Lanivich, 12, mother Margaret, Lopez, Lilla and pop Ian Lanivich in Rochester, Mich.
Emily Elconin for NPR
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Emily Elconin for NPR
Lilla describes putting a sterile gauze pad in her mouth simply earlier than and through her seizures, then the coach would introduce them to Lopez.
Now, Lopez can scent when a seizure is coming and, when that occurs, he paws her, telling her to go sit down whereas he will get assist.
“As a child and nonetheless to at the present time, Lopez loves resting his head on my wheelchair,” Lilla says in her podcast. “He is very goofy, snuggly and playful. We grew to become finest mates so shortly.”
Having Lopez in the home has modified, not simply Lilla’s life, however her dad and mom’ as effectively. “It is every little thing,” says Lilla’s mother, Margaret. “It is the entire purpose … why I wished to attempt the service canine factor to start with: So she would have freedom and he or she might have privateness.”
Not day by day is similar, however with the assistance of Lopez, Lilla says that this summer time, she’s studying to understand the brilliant spots each time they occur, and provides she’s feeling nice.
“I have been in a position to do issues the previous few weeks that I by no means would’ve thought I would be capable to do once more,” she says. “Like stroll the Detroit Zoo! I used to be in a position to try this which continues to be loopy to me.”
And this fall, she’s again in class for the primary time in 5 years, one other factor she will be able to’t fairly consider but: “All the things simply appeared so out of attain for me. However I even have hope now, which is unbelievable and loopy.”
She says she’s taking it day-to-day. And Lopez shall be proper by her aspect, each step of the way in which.
Edited by Steve Drummond
Audio story produced by Janet Woojeong Lee
Visible design and improvement by LA Johnson