Former resident, service dog bring forth message of hope
By Meredith Jean Morton
News Chief staff
WINTER HAVEN - Diane Dike's youth was much like that of many others who have grown up in Winter Haven.
She attended Winter Haven High School, where she was on the swim team and was even a participant in the Junior Olympics.
After graduating, Dike married her high school sweetheart. She graduated from Warner Southern College, and became a teacher at WHHS, and later transferred to Lake Region High School. She also worked at Cypress Gardens.
However, in her 40 years, Dike has survived more suffering than many will see in a lifetime. But, through her suffering, Dike has realized how much she has, and that is a message she is sharing nationwide as she travels to schools, churches, prisons and other venues.
"I was married, and then I got really sick. We didn't make it. I lost everything," Dike said. "I was homeless. It was a horrific time in my life. That was 15 years ago. I just crashed, and I burned."
Dike discovered she had a rare blood disease called cryoglobulinemia.
"It's very rare. I've never met anyone with the disease. And it's just got a plethora of horrible side effects," she said. "It affects every organ. My heart's damaged, I have spasms, so it'll be pumping and then will just tighten up. I have less cardiac symptoms when I walk, and more when I'm sitting or when my body temperature drops.
The drop in body temperature is very severe, and all aspects of the disease are life-threatening, affecting all aspects of her body - except her ability to share her message. However, when she was first diagnosed, she didn't believe she had a message to share.
"I really thought I was dying," said Dike, whose legs went black from her toes to hips from the illness. "They had amputee doctors come into my hospital room to take off my legs, and I went into a horrific depression. I didn't handle it very well."
As a result of the gravity doctors placed on her condition, Dike, a petite blond with a warm, inviting smile, said she lost all hope.
"I had a strong faith in the Lord, but I tell you, when you go through these trials, you get squeezed like a tube of toothpaste, and you really find out what's inside," she said. "And I didn't like what I found."
Despite the trials Dike faced during those years, she earned a Ph.D. in philosophy, human services and counseling psychology. Due to her perseverance, Dike found hope in big ways.
"Miraculously, the doctors didn't remove my legs because they felt a good pulse in my heel," she said. "And thank God for that, because my legs came back."
Dike continues to have problems with her legs. The disease causes her extremities to fill with blood and can swell.
"I was at the point of trying to keep my life together," she said. "I continued to teach and coach swimming, and I moved back in with my mom and dad. I just thought I could deny it. But that didn't work, either."
She continued to struggle with symptoms, and physicians failed to give positive reports. In spite of doctors' advice urging her not to go, Dike visited friends in Vail, Colorado. There, Dike said, she received her second chance.
"When I told the doctors I was going out there, they said, 'You might as well sign your death certificate.' Because with my disease, cryoglobulinemia, 'cry' means cold, 'globulant' means clotting and 'inemia' means blood. So it clots even worse when you're cold," she said. "I went out there and I met my husband."
After knowning one another merely a month, Paul Dike proposed. They have now been married eight years.
"He married me knowing I had this rare blood disease," she said smiling. "The neat thing about him is that when we were dating, he carried me when I couldn't walk. He saw the disease loud and clear, and he took me on anyway. He's a keeper."
Several years after marrying her husband, Dike was experiencing a period of illness and felt a yearning that has further altered her life.
"I had given up hope, but one day I was laying there in the bed, sick and feeling sorry for myself, and I thought, 'Lord, is there a little puppy dog out there who needs me as much as I need her. If there is, show me where she is,' " she said. "Two days later, my girlfriend called and said, 'Diane, there's this little puppy at the animal hospital, and God keeps telling me she's for you.' That's where I met Gracie."
Gracie, a 7-pound Italian greyhound, had been abandoned by a previous owner, had a ripped-off tail, broken front legs, broken ribs and a cold. Additionally, while the doctors were doing surgery, Gracie was given too much anesthetic, and she clinically died.
"She went cold, and she died, but God brought her back," Dike said. "He had a purpose and plan for her, and that was to work for me."
When Dike brought Gracie home, the dog was unable to walk, and Dike began transporting her in a carrier similar to one for infants.
Through carrying Gracie, Dike discovered the dog could alert her before she would suffer an episode of her disease.
"She's always on my person - I call her my velcro dog," Dike said laughing. "She can alert me 20 to 30 minutes before I'm going to have a hyperglycemic attack. I found this out because we were at the beach and we were about to go to a walk, and I had a towel wrapped around my waist, and Gracie freaked out, grabbing the towel yanking me back. She'd never done that before. So I thought, TSomething is wrong.' And I lay down, and sure enough, 20 minutes later, my disease flaired up."
When Dike discovered Gracie could accurately predict her mistress' symptom flair-ups, Gracie became the first rescued Italian greyhound service dog in the world.
"A lot of people don't understand that service dogs don't just work for the blind," she said. "The dogs can predict a heart attack, or cancer in a person. They are dogs that are definitely in tune with their owners."
Today, Dike travels the nation, speaking about her disability and her relationship with Gracie. She spoke at First Baptist Church of Winter Haven on Monday.
"When I first met Diane, I was drawn to the realness of her life," said Dodie Davis, wife of the church's pastor, Walter H. Davis. "As Diane shared what she's going through, she makes you think how inspiring she is."
Dike uses a specially designed wheelchair that can elevate her legs, and she always begins her presentations with a video about her life and an a cappella version of "Amazing Grace" - she said she closely identifies with the song's lyrics.
"She was just so uplifting and encouraging," said Larae Harbridge, who heard Dike speak on Monday. "Anyone who has been through something difficult could be inspired by what she said."
For Dike, sharing her message of perserverance is important.
"I wouldn't still be here without Him, I would have killed myself. Because it's so painful," she said. "That's the message - I never know what's going to flair up, or when. It's terrible, but through God's grace, I've gotten through it. People will say, 'Well, you look fine.' But some disabilities are invisible."
Dike is currently working to share her message to a larger audience. She is writing a children's book, "The Adventures of Gracie and Diane," and an autobiography, "God Made Only One of Me." She encourages those interested in the books to visit her Web site, web.mac.com/graciejc/iWeb/Site/.
She will share her message at Winter Haven's Christ Community Church, at 1895 Overlook Drive, on Sunday at 8:30 and 10:15 a.m.
"I want people to embrace who and where they are," Dike said. "I had to come to terms with the fact that God made me the way I am, and no one else is like me. My message isn't one of just the Christian aspects. It's friendship, love and teamwork, and who can't believe in that?"
Dike has the passion of sharing her message with children and adults suffering in many ways.
"I want to go visit hospitals, the Ronald McDonald House, prison, wherever people or kids are suffering, I want to share the message of hope with them," she said. "I've had prisoners ask me, 'Diane, why are you here?' But my response is that, if Christ was willing to die on the cross for me, then I should be willing to travel, even if I'm suffering, to tell people about Him."
Let your children enjoy the wonders and adventures of pets that join a family, bringing joy and heartwarming moments to their everyday lives. This story is about Tubby and Riley, two dogs who needed a good, loving home.
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