Seizure alert dog for Matty

Matty is a very special 13 year old boy who has been living with seizures his entire life. He suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage at birth (a stroke) which resulted in a seizure disorder. As Matty has gotten older, his seizures have become more frequent and intense. Worst of all when he has a grand mal seizure he makes no noise, he foams at the mouth and because of this, we can never let Matty out of our sight for more than a few minutes or even allow him to sleep in his own room, for fear that he could suffer a life threatening seizure. In addition to his seizure disorder, Matty has autism, colitis, chronic neutropenia and multiple food allergies. In many ways, Matty wants what every child wants, the freedom to be able to play outside alone, sleep in his own room and become more independent. A seizure alert dog will change Matty's life, not only will the dog be trained to alert us when Matty is having a seizure, but the dog will also be trained as an autism service dog. Trained to help calm him when he is anxious, help stop him from perseverating and also help to prevent him from wandering. A service dog will allow him the simple pleasures that most of us take for granted. Matty's application for a seizure alert dog has been accepted by Highland Training Center in North Carolina. They know they can train a dog that will change Matty's life. We are not the type of people to ask for help, but at this point we have no choice. A service dog that will be trained to alert us when Matty is seizing and also help with all of his autism challenges is very expensive...over $13,000. We need to get a service dog for our son. We constantly live with the stress and anxiety of our situation. We can not rest for a moment without knowing where Matty is and if he is safe. We are asking everyone to please post this site and spread the word about our son.