DISABLED teenager Hollie Byrnes has had her life turned around by a pretty special four-legged friend.

From birth, 16-year-old York College student Hollie, has had a genetic condition called Arthrogryposos, which has confined her to a wheelchair and makes simple everyday task like closing her own bedroom door impossible.

Hollie, who lives in Holgate, York, needs round-the-clock care, with no choice but to depend on others to meet her daily needs. At an age when most teenagers can barely be kept indoors, Hollie says she lacked the confidence to venture outside the house and live her life to the full.

Hollie’s mum, Sandra, applied to Dogs For The Disabled, realising the charity could provide a trained assistance dog to be Hollie’s companion and helper, 24 hours a day, and they teamed her up with Hilton the Labrador.

Now the pair are firm favourites with the students on Hollie’s college course in health and social care.

Hilton helped Hollie break the ice with her new classmates, and now Hollie loves her course and hopes to become an occupational therapist in the future. Hollie said: “Hilton snores during lectures but, due to his popularity with the other students, he has more friends than me on Facebook.”

Hilton helps with a myriad of mundane tasks, the most frequent job is to close Hollie’s bedroom door, something Sandra would have to do six or seven times a day at Hollie’s request before Hilton arrived. Hilton also helps Hollie dress and undress, pushes the button for pelican crossings and lift buttons when the two are out and about, and puts Hollie’s purse on the counter when they go to the shops.

Sandra said: “Hilton has helped Hollie develop a real drive for life.

“Her outlook is so much more positive now, and her attitude is definitely ‘can do’ rather than ‘do I have to?’ “Now Hollie is never alone and I don’t feel she is as vulnerable as she used to be.”

Sandra said that perhaps the biggest change for a girl who has spent her whole life being cared for, is that Hollie must now be the one who cares for Hilton. Taking responsibility for Hilton’s daily needs has turned Hollie’s focus away from her own disability. This is her first experience of what it’s like to have someone rely on her, rather than her being reliant on others. Hollie has joined a local Flyball team to allow Hilton some time, each week, to do something that he loves. In doing so, she has made many new friends and developed a new interest.


The condition

Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita means curved joints in several areas of the body at birth.

Anything that prevents normal movement of a baby in the womb will lead to a contracture, where a joint does not have a full range of movement.

The earlier in development, and longer there is a limitation of movement, the more severe the contracture is likely to be at birth.

When a limitation of movement occurs for several months, there also tends to be a lack of growth in a limb.