Name: Jaz Turner
Dog: Phoebe
I struggle with depression, anxiety, and complex PTSD as well as EDS (a constant and exhausting battle of fighting with your own body to complete the necessary daily tasks of life). Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is an incurable genetic condition which impairs and alters the production of collagen and other connective tissues, the “glue” holding the body together which includes the skin, muscles, bones, organs, tendons and ligaments, wreaking havoc throughout the body. I may appear able-bodied one day and be using mobility aids the next. I required feeding tubes, multiple surgeries and lifelong treatments, yet never, to the casual observer, “look sick”, but I am almost always exhausted, and in pain. I am passionate about raising awareness and getting rid of stigma around taboo subjects. Mental health and disability are very similar in that people are scared to ask or talk about it, and yet it’s something everyone will struggle with at some point in their lives. I hope I can normalise it so that hopefully, in the future, people won’t have to face the same battles I’ve faced. The reality of living with a progressive terminal health condition…. for every challenge I complete, there’s days of health complications and bed rest.
I never regret taking on these challenges, but sometimes, the payback is more than expected. As my body gets weaker, the consequences of all my mad plans get greater. Despite that, doing these things is so worth it. This is always about more than just me. The temporary setback is worth it for the huge number of people this will benefit.
PHOEBE, MY AMAZING ASSISTANCE AND CANINE CONCERN CARE DOG
Four years ago, I went to go look at a one-year-old golden retriever who was being rehomed through no fault of their own. The dog in question had been through six homes and was described as untrainable and aggressive. Despite that I am as everyone knows incredibly stubborn so decided to go see the dog anyway. When I first met the dog the first thing she did was rest her head on my lap. I remember my friend turning to me and saying, “we’re coming home with a dog aren’t we”, despite being told exactly not to do that. The dog I rescued was Phoebe and she has now been my fully qualified assistance dog for the past two years.
I still struggle to put into words exactly what it was I noticed in Phoebe. Lots of people ask me that question. The honest answer is I don’t know but when I looked at her and she looked at me there was just some part of me that knew we were meant to be together. People often describe having a heart dog, one dog that is just destined, and as cheesy as this sounds Phoebe for me is that dog.
Phoebe’s primary role is as my medical alert dog. Using scent she detects when I’m going to faint or have a seizure. She has three levels of alert, all with a specific meaning.
1. Check in alert – rests her head on my lap
2. Ten-minute warning alert – jumps up on my lap
3. Emergency alert – barks and stares at me while standing
She also acts as my medical response dog. So, if I faint or have a seizure she lies on top of me to help regulate my body temperature and blood pressure. If I fall on the floor during a seizure she will put herself between my head and any obstacle I might hit my head on. If I remain unconscious for too long or stop breathing, she will bark to get attention.
She also is a mobility assistance dog. So, she does things such as opening and closing doors, helping with the washing, fetching items, guiding to specific places and her favourite task – taking off and stealing my socks, even though that’s not really a task she is meant to do!
Phoebe is a pretty awesome dog in many ways. But she does what a lot of other assistance dogs do. The special part about Phoebe has been the journey we have been on as a partnership. Phoebe is an owner trained assistance dog which means that I have trained her independently and then she has been assessed to become fully qualified. Phoebe, a little like her owner, is incredibly stubborn, independent and sassy. There were times where I thought we would never qualify and I wanted to give up on her. Thankfully we didn’t give up on each other and it’s those same annoying characteristics that make her the amazing assistance dog she is today. I think I’m as much her rescue human as she is my rescue dog!
Phoebe is not only my assistance dog. She also works as a Canine Concern dog and brings joy to so many people. She works in hospitals, specifically ICU, universities, care homes and with children and adults with learning disabilities. Phoebe has an amazing ability to know exactly what they need. Whether that’s repeatedly chucking her ball and being a hyperactive 28kg puppy or lying dead still and just resting her head on them to bring then comfort. She is able to be whatever you need.
Personally, one of my favourite things about Phoebe is how willing she is to go on all my crazy adventures. For a dog who initially didn’t like water and wouldn’t run she has now been sailing, paddleboarding, kayaking and surfing. She has also willingly come climbing with me as well as paragliding. Despite that, when I have bad body days she is just as willing to stay in bed with me and snuggle. I can never thank Phoebe for what she does for me but I hope that shouting about how amazing she is goes a little way to thanking her. Don’t worry, she also gets loads of treats and belly rubs!
Phoebe is an essential part of my life as my assistance dog, and she allows me to live my crazy life independently. Without Phoebe, none of the things I do would be possible. She has come on a huge journey from nervous rescue dog to confident, sassy assistance and therapy dog with Canine Concern, bringing joy to me and so many others.
SAILING
Just over a year ago my condition progressed to the point where I was no longer able to sail in a single hander dinghy. This no longer became safe due to the risk of me becoming unconscious. For this reason, I ended up changing classes and sailing the RS Venture Connect. Over time Phoebe’s alerts became more and more accurate. So the idea formed… could I sail with Phoebe in the boat to alert me, meaning I could get to somewhere safe to lose consciousness and then come round? The answer was yes. Initially we started in the hansa just doing free sailing. But it worked well enough that we have started doing club racing. She has now joined me in sailing anything from a hansa to a sunfast 3600.
She has given me back the ability to sail and, more importantly, race independently. This year will be our first year competing in the hansa 303 together on the TT circuit as well as at the nationals. And fingers crossed I will maybe get to share a podium with Phoebe.
SAILABILITY
Three years ago with the help of my parents we started our own sailability group, Newhaven and Seaford sailability. It was done for lots of reasons but I had two big reasons.
1. I wanted to give other people like me with disabilities the opportunity to experience the joy and freedom of sailing. I wanted to share the sport that had bought me so much in particular the passion and drive that competing competitively had given me.
2. I also wanted to share the amazing space and sailing club, Newhaven & Seaford Sailing Club, who had given me so much from teaching me to sail to providing me with a community who helped carry me through some of the darkest times.
We started with a single hansa 303 and I was the only participant. We now have nine boats and are oversubscribed with participants and run sessions every week. For example, today we had five boats racing and we are a mix of people with and without disabilities, different ages and genders, and different abilities and experience. But we all came together to mess about in boats and share the thing we have in common.
As everybody knows I am sailing mad and I love competing. But more than anything I love the diverse community sailing has given me. I want to keep sharing this amazing sport.
SOUTH DOWNS WALK FUNDRAISER APRIL – JULY 2024 FOR NEWHAVEN AND SEAFORD SAILABILITY (NSS)
This year I have been doing a fundraiser to buy more boats to help more people like myself enjoy sailing. I am the first person in a wheelchair to do the 100 miles South Downs ‘walk’ from Winchester to Eastbourne to raise money for NSS
We are not defined by our limitations, but instead, we are defined by our imaginations. I am one person, no one special, but with an awful lot of help and a lot of hard work, I have just completed what felt like an impossible challenge. My mad dream has now become a reality!
INSPIRATIONAL TALKS
Two years ago I did my first big public speaking event with the Andrew Simpson Foundation: The Sailing Charity, educating people on the barriers to sailing and sport for those with disabilities. Thanks to the Earl of Cork and Orrey for hosting us. It was a wonderful evening with an amazing view. Also awesome to meet Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy. I was so nervous that Phoebe was constantly alerting throughout the talk that my heart rate was too high.
I don’t think the nerves have got any less, but I do now really enjoy sharing my story in the hope that it can maybe provide a bit of inspiration to prove that we are not the challenges we face but our reaction as to how we adapt and overcome them.
30th April 2024: I was the keynote speaker at Brighton Girls as part of their sport conference run for the @gdst group. I have been lucky enough to talk to the students at Brighton Girls on a previous occasion, and they were nice enough to ask me back.
19th June 2024: I had the pleasure of being invited to London Gatwick as part of their STEM outreach. I got to speak to a selection of students from Oriel High School, who were the best audience. Of course, Phoebe was the real star of the show and loved getting lots of belly rubs from the kids.
12th July 2024: I was invited to Northampton High School to talk at their Sports Award Evening. They said, “Her inspiring journey, as she recounted, is nothing short of remarkable and left our school community feeling inspired and moved”.
I don’t think I will ever get used to public speaking. I am always ridiculously nervous and feel like what I have to say isn’t of value. But the feedback I get is good so far, so as much as I hate it, I will keep doing it. I often get told I’m “inspirational” and although I don’t see it myself. I am starting to have a little belief in myself. I hope my story shows it’s not how often or how bad we fail but how we get up and move on afterwards.
CRUFTS
I was lucky enough that me and my crazy partner in crime, Phoebe, were nominated for the Kennel Club Crufts Hero Dog Award 2024. We were selected as the finalist in the support dog category. This means we were invited to Crufts where the overall winner from all four finalists was announced on live TV.
We didn’t end up winning the Hero Dog Award but the winner was an amazing search and rescue dog who helps locate live casualties, so was a very deserving winner. Crufts gave me a huge platform to shout about how amazing Phoebe is and show how inclusive sailing is. I hope I helped show that your disability doesn’t have to stop you and that anything is possible if you work hard enough. I also hopefully showed that although there are often many barriers we all face, there is always a way to work around them, you might just have to think outside of the box (or boat).
It was awesome to have such a large platform to show off both owner-trained assistance dogs as well as sailing. It was nice for my two favourite worlds to come together. I’m hoping I’ve managed to raise some awareness and demonstrate how disability never has to stop you. Anything is possible if you just believe and work hard enough. Never in a million years did I imagine the scared golden retriever I rescued four years ago would not only become my assistance dog but would be on the stage at the largest, most prestigious dog show in the world.
MY ADVENTURES
I’ve been on many adventures, and these pictures are just a small example of some of the things I’ve been able to do.
These include: (but not limited to)
– climbing (actual walls and random trees)
– air rifle shooting
– horse riding
– paddleboarding
– wheelchair basketball
– wheelchair rugby
– wheelchair long distance running/athletics
– sit skiing
– surfing
– sailing
– and of course lots of muddy dog walks
I think that when living with a disability we are often told things we can’t do or places we can’t go. I am a huge believer in anything is possible, but maybe you might have to do things slightly differently. I don’t believe you ever “overcome” your disability, but I do believe you can work alongside your disability and not let it hold you back. There will always be things I can’t do but for everything I can’t do I bet I can find at least two other things I can do.
In July, I got to celebrate my 26th birthday! In December last year, I really wasn’t sure if I would get to celebrate another birthday, so getting to be here on my birthday feels like another mountain climbed. I have no idea what this rollercoaster of life has to throw at me next, but I know I am holding on with white knuckles ready for anything. I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about what my life would look like if I made it to this birthday. I still live with a terminal condition, and I don’t know how I long I have to live. But making it to this birthday has made me more determined than ever to go forward and live life to the full. Not being held back by fear or other people’s perceptions.
When I discovered I was terminal, I knew that meant that time was running out. To me, that just made me more determined to live life to the full and take every opportunity that came my way.
Society tells us that breaking down and crying is a weakness. But I know the opposite. So some days I spend my day in the garden with the best puppy, crying and raging at the world, at the unfairness of it all. I let myself mourn the future and cry all the tears. And that is okay. At the end of it, though, I have to pick myself up and carry on with life. Because the world doesn’t stop turning, for anyone. Despite a hard day and dealing with a new set of tricky symptoms, I choose to take notice of the small things. Sometimes that has been sitting in the hospice garden with the daffodils while Phoebe gets confused by a fountain. That evening was finished off sitting in the sun on the beach.
This illness has really taught me to appreciate the little things. Some days, that is having the best assistance dog and companion who doesn’t leave my side and lets me cry all the tears into her fur and feel the warmth of the sun and the bite of the wind. Because at the end of the day, I am still alive to cry, and there is so much magic in that. No matter how crappy your day is, there is always little good things to add a bit of light in the darkness.
So, this is your reminder to go out and do whatever scares you and don’t be stopped by any barriers (physical or mental), because unless you try you never know what is possible!
Canine Concern Comments
I have been amazing by Jaz and Phoebe since they joined us in January 2022, and Jaz has certainly made a great impression on all she meets. Even though she has so many health issues that she is coping with and a short life expectancy, at just 26 years of age she is certainly an inspiration to us all. When I feel down, I remind myself there are people with less than me, like Jaz, who are still there to help others and put themselves through hardship and pain to help others. I have met Jaz on several visits, and she never fails to amaze me. They are a great team, and although Phoebe is Jaz’s own service dog, she can still interact and help other people.
