Lily's Diabetic Service Dog
Donation protected
Lily’s Diabetic Story
On July 4th, 2015 just as we were celebrating our nation, our daughter, Lily Christabelle had to be rushed to the emergency room. She had been drinking, eating & peeing a lot but was still losing weight. We figured she was going through a growth spurt, but my Mom was getting concerned about her weight loss despite her food & drink intake. At the 4th of July party, there happened to be an acquaintance there with whom we told Lily’s story. He had an extra glucose meter & testing strips to allow us to check Lily’s blood sugar levels. We didn’t really expect anything, but her numbers were off the chart! We left the party immediately & headed to the hospital.
After a few tests, the doctors diagnosed Lily with Type 1 diabetes which is not curable & according to her numbers, they felt she was just days away from her going into a diabetic coma. We were devastated! They called her a “brittle” diabetic which means she has extreme highs & extreme low sugar levels & they can drop quickly at any time. The scary part is that she can eat the same thing every single day at the same exact time, but that doesn’t mean her sugars will remain stable. So we have to check her sugar levels at least 4-5 times a day but some days it could be as many as 10 times. If the levels get too low, she can have seizures, lose consciousness or die. She has a diabetic pump that feeds insulin into her body to help try to maintain a normal living because her pancreas no longer function correctly. If the levels get too high, she can go into DKA which is Diabetic Keto-acidosis which can cause high ketones in your urine, excessive thirst, frequent urination, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and even shortness of breath. If left untreated, DKA can be fatal. Activity, excitement, heat, anxiety & even puberty can all cause big changes in the body’s blood sugar which is why she needs to be monitored constantly. She even has to change her pump every 3 days. Living with Type 1 Diabetes is a daily struggle to keep Lily healthy, but we work together to do our best.
Why are we fundraising for a diabetic alert dog?
There is no cure for Type 1 Diabetes, no answer as to why her blood sugar spikes high or drops dangerously low randomly. A diabetic dog will alert us when Lily’s sugar levels are above or below a “good range” in order to avoid dangerous situations. In fact, we had a random experience with this type of dog during a visit to Walmart. There was a woman grocery shopping with her daughter’s dog. I approached her with questions, and the dog went up to Lily & stayed with her. The woman asked if we had checked Lily’s levels recently & we had not. So upon returning home, we discovered that her numbers were too low just as the dog predicted. It would be amazing to have that reassurance to prevent Lily from having such drastic numbers & to keep her safe especially at night when we are all asleep.
How does the dog work?
A diabetic alert dog uses its sense of smell to detect when the blood sugar is going “out of range.” The chemicals in our bodies are full of different scents, and when your blood sugar is rising or lowering, a specific chemical is released and the diabetic alert dog senses it and then does its job and alerts. A diabetic alert dog can do several things to alert, but will typically bark until you take appropriate action and correct the issue.
Why is the go so expensive?
“From the time they can leave their mothers, puppies spend every single day & night with a trainer. Training the Diabetic Alert Dogs is incredibly labor intensive and time consuming. While it doesn’t look like work when you see a service dog in training out in public, those trainers are constantly socializing, teaching, creating work opportunities, caring for, and exercising dogs. It’s a job that doesn’t end when the clock strikes 5:00! We are working dogs, in various stages of development, around the clock 24/7, until they are delivered to you. We will provide you with a cost breakdown upon contract signature.”
http://alertservicedogs.com/general-FAQ.html
Thank you so much for reading our story. It would mean the world to us if you would share her story. If you can donate, we can’t tell you how much it would mean to us! Any amount helps. If all you can is share, please do, that still would mean the world to us! By donating, sharing, and spreading the word, we know we will be able to reach our gold.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Brandon, Heidi, Elijah & Lily Ware
On July 4th, 2015 just as we were celebrating our nation, our daughter, Lily Christabelle had to be rushed to the emergency room. She had been drinking, eating & peeing a lot but was still losing weight. We figured she was going through a growth spurt, but my Mom was getting concerned about her weight loss despite her food & drink intake. At the 4th of July party, there happened to be an acquaintance there with whom we told Lily’s story. He had an extra glucose meter & testing strips to allow us to check Lily’s blood sugar levels. We didn’t really expect anything, but her numbers were off the chart! We left the party immediately & headed to the hospital.
After a few tests, the doctors diagnosed Lily with Type 1 diabetes which is not curable & according to her numbers, they felt she was just days away from her going into a diabetic coma. We were devastated! They called her a “brittle” diabetic which means she has extreme highs & extreme low sugar levels & they can drop quickly at any time. The scary part is that she can eat the same thing every single day at the same exact time, but that doesn’t mean her sugars will remain stable. So we have to check her sugar levels at least 4-5 times a day but some days it could be as many as 10 times. If the levels get too low, she can have seizures, lose consciousness or die. She has a diabetic pump that feeds insulin into her body to help try to maintain a normal living because her pancreas no longer function correctly. If the levels get too high, she can go into DKA which is Diabetic Keto-acidosis which can cause high ketones in your urine, excessive thirst, frequent urination, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and even shortness of breath. If left untreated, DKA can be fatal. Activity, excitement, heat, anxiety & even puberty can all cause big changes in the body’s blood sugar which is why she needs to be monitored constantly. She even has to change her pump every 3 days. Living with Type 1 Diabetes is a daily struggle to keep Lily healthy, but we work together to do our best.
Why are we fundraising for a diabetic alert dog?
There is no cure for Type 1 Diabetes, no answer as to why her blood sugar spikes high or drops dangerously low randomly. A diabetic dog will alert us when Lily’s sugar levels are above or below a “good range” in order to avoid dangerous situations. In fact, we had a random experience with this type of dog during a visit to Walmart. There was a woman grocery shopping with her daughter’s dog. I approached her with questions, and the dog went up to Lily & stayed with her. The woman asked if we had checked Lily’s levels recently & we had not. So upon returning home, we discovered that her numbers were too low just as the dog predicted. It would be amazing to have that reassurance to prevent Lily from having such drastic numbers & to keep her safe especially at night when we are all asleep.
How does the dog work?
A diabetic alert dog uses its sense of smell to detect when the blood sugar is going “out of range.” The chemicals in our bodies are full of different scents, and when your blood sugar is rising or lowering, a specific chemical is released and the diabetic alert dog senses it and then does its job and alerts. A diabetic alert dog can do several things to alert, but will typically bark until you take appropriate action and correct the issue.
Why is the go so expensive?
“From the time they can leave their mothers, puppies spend every single day & night with a trainer. Training the Diabetic Alert Dogs is incredibly labor intensive and time consuming. While it doesn’t look like work when you see a service dog in training out in public, those trainers are constantly socializing, teaching, creating work opportunities, caring for, and exercising dogs. It’s a job that doesn’t end when the clock strikes 5:00! We are working dogs, in various stages of development, around the clock 24/7, until they are delivered to you. We will provide you with a cost breakdown upon contract signature.”
http://alertservicedogs.com/general-FAQ.html
Thank you so much for reading our story. It would mean the world to us if you would share her story. If you can donate, we can’t tell you how much it would mean to us! Any amount helps. If all you can is share, please do, that still would mean the world to us! By donating, sharing, and spreading the word, we know we will be able to reach our gold.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Brandon, Heidi, Elijah & Lily Ware
Organizer
Heidi Burks Ware
Organizer
Bluff City, TN
