A New Recruit for Sergeant Maxwell

 Retired Army sergeant Deidre Maxwell will receive her first Fidelco guide dog soon and we believe her story is one you will enjoy. We welcome her into the Fidelco family.

Deidre Maxwell is well aware of the difference In-community Placement makes in the lives of Fidelco’s graduates. When she got her first guide dog from another school, she had to travel across the country and leave John, her fourteen month-old son, behind in West Virginia for 28 days. She says, “It was the hardest thing I ever did. When I left, he wasn’t talking very much. When I returned, he was talking whole sentences and paragraphs. It was this huge gap I missed!” She adds with a laugh, “He hasn’t been quiet since.”

John is now sixteen and Deidre is awaiting her first Fidelco guide dog, thrilled that she won’t have to travel away from home for training. “If Fidelco had been in West Virginia when I first got a guide dog,” she says, “I would have had a Fidelco dog from day one. It’s really hard to leave your life behind, even when your child is older.”

Deidre’s husband died 10 years ago which meant that when she needed her two successor dogs, she had to find friends and family to take care of John while she left for training elsewhere. Before she lost her vision, Deidre served in the Army. She learned Spanish, German and Mandarin Chinese to serve as an interrogator.

“I loved my job. I enlisted in college and eventually became a sergeant,” she says. While in the Army, she started having trouble with her peripheral vision and with joint pain. Honorably discharged in 1987, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988. She says, “If I hadn’t lost my sight, I’d probably still be in the Army right now.”

Serving her country is in Deidre's blood. Her father, who served in World War II, paved the way for her. Then, after her discharge, the man she fell in love with and married was also a veteran. Not surprisingly, her son wants to join the Army. “Since he was six, he’s wanted to go to West Point,” she says.

After her husband died, Deidre and John moved to a five-acre farm on the edge of Morgantown, West Virginia. They have plenty of animals, including lots of dogs. If it’s not immediately clear that Deidre loves dogs, consider this: she buys two hundred pounds of dog food a month.

Despite the array of animals, she is eager to welcome yet another dog into her home. “Pete Nowicki tells me he has his eye on a dog that would be a good match for me,” she says. Her Fidelco partner won’t come a minute too soon. Her former guide dog retired in August and since then she has been using a cane. While proficient with it, Deidre says, “I don’t feel confidence with the cane, so I tend to stay home. With a guide dog, though, I go everywhere. I’m much happier and more confident.”

With so much going on, it’s easy to see why Deidre exudes enthusiasm and youthfulness. But what’s the secret to her boundless energy?

She laughs, “I refuse to grow up…and I have lots of dogs!”

You can help Deidre and many others like her experience the freedom and independence a Fidelco guide dog brings by making a tax-deductible donation today. To donate online, please visit www.fidelco.org or send your check made payable to Fidelco to 103 Old Iron Ore Rd., Bloomfield, CT 06002.