Averee and her Service Dog

When Averee’s mom was twenty weeks pregnant they  found out she had Hydrocephalus (which is excessive fluid on the brain). When she was two days old, they had to place a shunt to drain off all the excess fluid. She was in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for over one month. When they were preparing for discharge, they were told her CPK levels (creatine phosphokinase- indicative of muscle disease) were high and needed to consult with a Genetics Doctor. In October 2015 Averee was diagnosed with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. In November of the same year she was diagnosed with Congenital Glaucoma and needed emergency eye surgery due to how high the pressure was in her eyes. While amongst all these diagnoses, they also found out in January of 2016 Averee has epilepsy. As Averee has gotten older there has been new things to learn and adapt to. Averee has had numerous PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) stays that required her to be placed on ventilator. After a long hard decision, she ended up having to have a Tracheostomy Tube placed to help her breathe, due to all the hospitalizations, weak immune system, along with muscle dysfunction. It was one of the toughest but most beneficial decisions we had ever made. Today Averee is 4. She does not walk or sit up. She eats through a feeding tube. We are unsure of how much she can see. She cannot move her arms or legs. But, when someone she loves comes up to her, she blows kisses and bats those beautiful eyes. She knows us. She loves us.
 
That is a brief glimpse of Ms. Averee’s journey and her family’s life for the past four years. This journey with Averee has taught them that you need to appreciate and make the best you can each and every day. They are cramming an entire lifetime with their daughter into a few short years.
 
Her mother said “After our daughter is gone, these stories about our journey and the memories of our love for her will be all we have. And, this is a journey that we walk with too many others; some before us and others to follow. In the end, we just want to know we did all we could.”
 
Averee could benefit from a service dog. Averee spends a large part of her day in bed. She has little stimulation or sensory interaction with her surroundings. We want to give her as much chance as possible to enjoy the life she has. A trained dog can give her a friend, a source of companionship, sensory stimulation, accompany her on her many appointments, and even be trained to alert her family or caregivers when she has a seizure. With all of the other out of pocket costs they have, we do not have the funds to pay for the training. We are searching for resources to help her before her time runs out.