Cause For Jersie's Paws
Donation protected
As many of you know and for those of you who don't know our 5 year old daughter Jersie was diagnosed in February with juvenile diabetes also known as type 1 Diabetes. That day our lives changed forever. Life with diabetes is difficult and demands constant finger pricks to test blood sugars, insulin shots, and carbohydrate calculations.
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. With diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin, the chemical that is responsible for processing the body's blood sugar. Without insulin blood sugars will spike out of control. Blood sugars that are not well controlled can cause many serious long term health problems such as kidney disease, heart disease and blindness just to mention a few. Type 1 Diabetes is treated with daily injections of insulin. It is very difficult to calculate exactly the right dose of insulin and giving too much insulin is extremely dangerous "” it can quickly cause life-threatening lows blood sugar that can lead to confusion, seizures even death. Low blood sugars can come on very rapidly with little or no warning and are particularly dangerous if the diabetic is sleeping, driving or swimming Jersie is on the swim team and swimming with diabetes has provided its own set of challenges for us. Any exercise can bring blood sugar down but the intensity of swim practice, along with the cold water can often causes the blood sugar to drop to dangerous levels. At the same time the stress of practice and competitions often causes her blood sugars to spike high, Jersie has to test more frequently than some because she is on the swim team a and is very sensitive to exercise. It is not unusual for her to test 10-15 times a day and take up to 8 shots a day. Most diabetics experience high or low blood sugar and some people are unable to detect the warning signs until it is too late. Jersie, due to her age would fall into that category. We have to wake her up every night 2-3 times to check her blood sugar and even with that there are times when we lay in bed wondering if she is okay. Since Jersie has been diagnosed we have struggled daily to control her blood sugars. After doing a lot of research we have decided to get a diabetic alert service dog also known as a D.A.D. to help Jersie with her highs and lows. The cost of a well-trained Diabetic Alert Dog is very high. These dogs are not considered a pet and are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are not covered by our insurance. A Service Dog will not be able to prevent lows and highs however it will be able to alert us to the changes before they become life-threatening. He will sleep by Jersies side and wake her at night when her numbers changes. He will sit by the pool and alert the coach and/or myself if she is in danger. He will help her learn how to detect her highs and lows. He will watch over her and be our eyes when we can't be there and he will be her best friend. Diabetic Alert Dogs can change a diabetic's life. While they are relatively new in the world of Service Dogs, they have proven that they can and will save their master's life by detecting the climbs and falls 20 - 40 minutes before a meter can:improving her overall blood glucose range. These dogs can sniff out subtle changes in their owner's blood chemistry, even at a great distance, that are undetectable to humans. Diabetic alert dogs are persistent to the point where it will go get another member of the household if the diabetic does not respond. It will offer us all a peace of mind during the night (one of the scariest and hardest parts for any T1D parent), when she is participating in sports, at sleepover or movies, driving and even at college. The benefits of these dogs are never ending. This disease is a lifetime battle for Jersie and the diabetic service dog will be trained to help make diabetes a smaller part of her life by detecting dangerous changes in her blood sugar levels, this will allow her to have the freedom that most children have. He will help keep our child safe so she can grow up and follow her dreams. Please help us raise the money for Jersie's diabetic service dog. We thank you all for supporting us and joining us in this cause:we could not do it without you.
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. With diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin, the chemical that is responsible for processing the body's blood sugar. Without insulin blood sugars will spike out of control. Blood sugars that are not well controlled can cause many serious long term health problems such as kidney disease, heart disease and blindness just to mention a few. Type 1 Diabetes is treated with daily injections of insulin. It is very difficult to calculate exactly the right dose of insulin and giving too much insulin is extremely dangerous "” it can quickly cause life-threatening lows blood sugar that can lead to confusion, seizures even death. Low blood sugars can come on very rapidly with little or no warning and are particularly dangerous if the diabetic is sleeping, driving or swimming Jersie is on the swim team and swimming with diabetes has provided its own set of challenges for us. Any exercise can bring blood sugar down but the intensity of swim practice, along with the cold water can often causes the blood sugar to drop to dangerous levels. At the same time the stress of practice and competitions often causes her blood sugars to spike high, Jersie has to test more frequently than some because she is on the swim team a and is very sensitive to exercise. It is not unusual for her to test 10-15 times a day and take up to 8 shots a day. Most diabetics experience high or low blood sugar and some people are unable to detect the warning signs until it is too late. Jersie, due to her age would fall into that category. We have to wake her up every night 2-3 times to check her blood sugar and even with that there are times when we lay in bed wondering if she is okay. Since Jersie has been diagnosed we have struggled daily to control her blood sugars. After doing a lot of research we have decided to get a diabetic alert service dog also known as a D.A.D. to help Jersie with her highs and lows. The cost of a well-trained Diabetic Alert Dog is very high. These dogs are not considered a pet and are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are not covered by our insurance. A Service Dog will not be able to prevent lows and highs however it will be able to alert us to the changes before they become life-threatening. He will sleep by Jersies side and wake her at night when her numbers changes. He will sit by the pool and alert the coach and/or myself if she is in danger. He will help her learn how to detect her highs and lows. He will watch over her and be our eyes when we can't be there and he will be her best friend. Diabetic Alert Dogs can change a diabetic's life. While they are relatively new in the world of Service Dogs, they have proven that they can and will save their master's life by detecting the climbs and falls 20 - 40 minutes before a meter can:improving her overall blood glucose range. These dogs can sniff out subtle changes in their owner's blood chemistry, even at a great distance, that are undetectable to humans. Diabetic alert dogs are persistent to the point where it will go get another member of the household if the diabetic does not respond. It will offer us all a peace of mind during the night (one of the scariest and hardest parts for any T1D parent), when she is participating in sports, at sleepover or movies, driving and even at college. The benefits of these dogs are never ending. This disease is a lifetime battle for Jersie and the diabetic service dog will be trained to help make diabetes a smaller part of her life by detecting dangerous changes in her blood sugar levels, this will allow her to have the freedom that most children have. He will help keep our child safe so she can grow up and follow her dreams. Please help us raise the money for Jersie's diabetic service dog. We thank you all for supporting us and joining us in this cause:we could not do it without you.
Organizer
Jessica Treuthart
Organizer
