A little help for the Ludwigs - In memory of Eric

Update: 

It is with great sadness to say that Eric passed away Friday morning, Feb. 22 at the hospital. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones.  Susie said that he received excellent care and the hospital was outstanding. They tried everything they could to keep him alive, but his body couldn't fight it any longer.

Susie thanks you all so very much for everything - the prayers, the support and the everything else before the surgery, after and now. We are all a bit in shock - he was such an amazing person - so giving, so loving and so full of joy.  We will all miss him terribly.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 3485 Stanford Court, Boulder, CO 80305. 

Bring comfort and tell the story of Eric’s life.  Leave a memory, tell a favorite story or share a kind word or condolence.  All memories will be printed in a book for Eric’s wife and children along with some photos.  If you don’t want to post on the Caringbridge website https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ericludwig be sure to put your memory on a card at the service and leave it in the basket.

You may also share condolences at www.howemortuary.com

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Eric’s name, through the American Liver Foundation.  https://alfmad.org/rockymountain/support/#RememberLud or if you would like to support the family Eric left behind, contributions can be made directly to his children’s 529 college investment plan. 
https://www.ugift529.com 
- Ugift Code for Katelyn: V6U-S7J
- Ugift Code for William: R1L-SSH 

Kate Butowicz Sanders - posting on behalf of the Ludwig family. 

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A way to help...

Thank you to all who have reached out over the past few months with thoughts, prayers and love – as well as your willingness to help.  We are extremely grateful for your support and outreach.

Many of you have been asking how you can help as we struggle with our new reality. Many times, we can only look to the next day, but over the past few months, our family had been talking about getting a puppy. Sounds crazy with all that we are going though, but we knew that a dog would bring joy to hard days and would be a comfort to not only the kids, but Eric as well. 

After much encouragement and support from Eric’s doctor (and begging from the kids and myself), Eric started researching breeds (again).  He decided on a Vizsla for their size, temperament and trainability. After Thanksgiving, the kids and I drove to Nebraska to meet our wonderful new family member (unfortunately, Eric was too sick to make the trip). Our adorable fur baby was born Sept. 11 and we named him Scooby-Bleu, or Bleu for short. Bleu has brought us great joy and much needed daily happiness already.

After seeing Bleu with Eric and the kids, we decided that it would be advantageous to certify Bleu as a therapy support dog.  As a therapy dog, Bleu could:

-   Visit Eric during hospital stays.
-  Bring happiness to others in the hospital as I plan to volunteer with him when I am there.
-  Get Eric outdoors and moving when he is at home.
-  Get me out of the hospital room and exercising.
- Stress relief through cuddles.

We have always known that a new dog takes a lot of time and training and I want the kids involved in the process as I feel it is an important responsibility to teach the kids. However, with Eric’s recent hospitalization and the new expectation that he will be in and out of the hospital frequently until he gets a new liver, it is clear my schedule will be in flux so much that the dog will not get the proper training practice and time with me or the kids – especially if we want him to be a support dog.

In order to properly train Bleu, we would like to send him to a 2-3 week long “Board and Train” program. This type of program will still take practice, training (time) and may even still teach the kids the responsibility of training a dog, but it will be faster, and more effective for our situation. The Ludwig family is grateful for any help we can get to put Bleu in a board and train program.

Thank you in advance for any donations! Eric and I are overwhelmed by the support we have had throughout this process already.

You all bring tears to our eyes.
~ Susan Ludwig and Family