A Service Dog For Matteo

Matteo Waiting on his Service Dog . . . Just What the Doctor Ordered. Matteo Hathcoat has been approved for a service dog! Matteo was born in Texas, his biological mother left him two days later. Doctors said that he would never survive, but he did. When he was well enough to be discharged from the hospital, he was sent to an orphanage where he lived the first two years of his life. Matteo was then adopted by a family and lived with them in Wisconsin and then Trenton, TN for the next two years of his life. He was removed from their home along with seventeen other children in June of 2004 due to his adoptive parents being charged with 54 counts of child abuse. After being removed from their care, Matteo then went into the foster care system. My name is Lisa Hathcoat and Matteo came into my home as a foster child in 2005. We offically adopted him in 2008 and he became my son. He is now 18 years old with special needs and numerous disabilities. Matteo has multiple medical diagnosis, here are just a few to name: Mobius Syndrome, Pierre Robin Syndrome, MultiCranial Nerve Palsy, Epilepsy, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, Syndactyly Limb Abnormalities, and Facial Nerve Palsy. Matteo and I live in Martin, TN. He is a very sweet and loving young man who loves to play on his tablet, watch movies, collect dvd's, and participate in school. He has been through a lot in his short 18 years including: numerous hospitalizations, surgeries, procedures, and seen multiple doctors. On top of the multiple diagnosis listed above, Matteo is a Bilateral Lower Leg Amputee . He has specially fitted and designed prosthetic legs that he uses in combination with a walker, cane, and wheelchair. Matteo is fortunate enough to have a communication device that he uses with his homebound teacher. He has developed his own unique form of sign language that his family and nurses have no problem understanding, due to only having four fingers on each hand with two of his fingers on one hand being webbed. Matteo has a G/J tube for night time feedings and sleeps in a hospital bed with his head elevated. He can eat stage II consistency baby food during the day. Matteo absolutely loves his milkshakes! Matteo's service dog will work as a mobility and emotional support dog. Will you please help to invest in Matteo's future? Having a Service Dog today will completely change his quality of life tomorrow. Although we know Matteo will never be independent, we are hoping a service dog that is not only here to help with his mobility but also here emotionally with him will help Matteo gain more independence, giving him a happier and better quality of life. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about Matteo. If you would like to help Matteo with his journey to getting a Service Dog and are unable to donate please help by sharing.