One special Labrador is about to change a woman's life drastically.

Brook Balazs is in her early 20s and has suffered from multiple head injuries and other health challenges throughout her life, but a ski accident in January of 2020 marked the beginning of a much scarier set of symptoms than she'd ever had before.

Her medical conditions have not only caused life-threatening problems but have also stifled her ability to go where she pleases at any given time.

Thankfully for her, an Aspen Service Dog in training is about to be hers.

Due to the multiple thousands of dollars required for the dog's training, a fundraiser has been started to help with the cost.

Her mom Teresa Adams said it was about six days after the ski collision that Brook awoke to realize that she was unable to move or speak.

"She could look around and hear, but that was it. She was 100 per cent, completely paralyzed and basically trapped inside of her body for almost eight hours."

Adams says her daughter came out of full-body paralysis but has experienced sporadic spasms and episodes since then.

Balazs describes it as her muscles freaking out because they've lost connection with the brain.

"This last ski accident wasn't even that bad, but I guess it was just the last concussion that my brain took and then it stopped having the strong connection from my brain to my body."

During these episodes, her blood pressure drops drastically, and she can feel things through her body but just isn't able to respond.

"It's a very strange feeling cause my body kind of just panics because it's not receiving signals from the brain. I can feel my body panicking, but it's the strangest thing."

"It was very, very scary for a long time. I mean, it still scares me, but it's been two years now so I'm starting to kind of get used to it. I just kind of sit there and just daze out and daydream a lot now when I'm having episodes just because I realize I'm stuck."

She says sometimes she is able to force a reconnection by imagining herself moving but that the process is thoroughly exhausting.

Balazs is currently taking a break from school and work due to her condition.

"It's difficult to heal when I'm being pressured by school, and it's difficult to work when you can't always promise that you're not going to faint or have a spasm, or some sort of paralysis or something."

She's also had other medical challenges for many years including constant head pain and cerebral palsy dysplasia in her legs, requiring her to exercise them a lot.

"But being locked in the house, I have been lacking the exercise component a little bit. So I think my dog is going to enjoy walking me," said Balazs.

"I'm excited for more physical activity cause it's hard when you're just at home and you can't go out and walk. I need walks and I love walking cause if I don't use my legs I lose them basically."

Her mom says it would mean the world to her for her daughter to finally get her service dog.

"She's a very, very outgoing girl. So now she's basically trapped at home because she can't be out by herself," said Adams.

With her new dog, Balazs will be able to get out of the house and go for a walk without requiring another person.

The Labrador will also be able to pick up items, assist with balance, help make sure she gets medical attention in the case of an emergency, and also provide emotional support.

Balazs is looking forward to working with her dog and hopefully getting better so that she can return to post-secondary where she had been working on her Bachelor of Science degree in geology.

Adams says they are currently expecting Balazs to be doing two weeks of in-person training with her dog in June, half at her place in Calgary and half at the Aspen Service Dogs head office in Edmonton.

The plan is for her to have a trained Labrador by early July at the latest.

Adams says the dogs are well over $60,000, but that the government covers part of it.

"Our cost is like $38,000. So we've been fundraising for the last just over a year and a half now to get that $38,000 total for that fundraiser. Now we've got it down to the last $6-8,000, but it's not just the service dog we have to pay for."

She says they're hoping to raise enough money to also help cover the insurance costs and future vet bills.

Adams has started the Brook's Aspen Service Dog Fundraiser on GoFundMe to help raise the money.

"If people could just open their hearts and help us, it would be so appreciated," said Adams.