Emily Scriarretta is an extraordinary young woman.
One morning ten years ago she stood up and fell to the floor. When she went to stand up her legs went in opposite directions. She couldn't walk. The diagnosis was tethered cord syndrome and Chiari malformation. The Chiari malformation required her to have two brain surgeries. She would never walk again.
"I learned that a diagnosis shouldn't define you: I define me. God instilled in me a fighting spirit," she said. Today, the Levittown, New York, resident travels the state as Ms. Wheelchair NY USA 2016. Her platform is service dogs. Her message is "Service Dogs: Changing Lives One Wag at a Time." She wants people to know how important these dogs are to the disabled. She gives speeches to important audiences everywhere, including the New York Stock Exchange and to the employees of the Resort World Casino in Queens, New York.
Emily received her service dog, Carmel, from Canine Companions for Independence in November 2010. The organization provides free dogs to people with both mental and physical disabilities. Carmel has changed her life. "People look at me differently. My life was once focused on my condition and multiple diagnoses and now it's about her and my being a good pack leader and the bond between us that has grown with time. My life became so much more active after I received Carmel. I truly cannot imagine my life without her," she said.
Carmel is a Lab/Golden Retriever cross who knows more than 40 commands. She can pick things up off the floor, open and close doors, push elevator buttons, and comforts Emily when she is in pain or sad. "One day I was in bed with bad back pain. She jumped on my bed and gently curled into my lower back and braced it. Her bracing actually helped with the pain. I haven't taught her this; she is just that sensitive to me," Emily noted.
Two years ago she met her husband Frank through Canine Companions. Frank is also in a wheelchair and has a service dog named Drew. "Having a husband who understands what life is like in a wheelchair is a real gift. Our amazing service dogs complete our happy foursome family," she said.
Before she became disabled, Emily had a successful singing career performing her own brand of music that she calls Gospel Jazz She now wants to revive her career and plans on an engagement at Samantha's Little Bit of Heaven in Northport, N.Y.
Emily is in the process of raising money so that she and Carmel can travel to Ohio in July to compete for the title of "Ms. Wheelchair USA." Donations can be made to her Go Fund Me page www.gofundme.com/fnfwfzd8. "I have made it my life's mission to educate people about the importance of service dogs and if I were crowned Ms. Wheelchair USA it would give me a tremendous platform to deliver my message," she said.