Howdy folks! My name is Jill and that cute kid you are looking at is my little brother, Chad. Many of you have followed what has been going on with my kid brother over the last couple of years. You know his story well and have blessed our family with your continued thoughts and prayers.

For those of you who have not I am going to give a brief background: In June of 2013 Chad fell off his mountain bike and sustained a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Chad had a bilateral craniectomy (removal of two pieces of his skull to relieve pressure on the brain) just a few days after his accident. The doctor who completed Chad's surgery did not give us much hope in regard to the quality of life Chad would have in the months to come - if he made it. Luckily, my kid brother is a fighter and made it through the surgery despite the grave prognosis.

After the surgery, Chad spent 2 months in a coma at Palomar Hospital. He could not breathe or eat on his own so the doctors performed a tracheotomy and placed a feeding tube in his stomach. When Chad finally did wake up, he had no recollection of what happened, who he was or who we (his family) were.

Once Chad was stable he was transferred to a rehabilitation facility so he could begin his new life. Chad had to relearn how to do EVERYTHING - you know all of those little things we take advantage of? Walking, talking, eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, etc. - he literally started over at square one. He spent a couple of months in rehab, relearning what once came so easily and was sent home. His life has not been the same since.

Chad has had numerous surgeries in the past two years - 9 major surgeries including 3 craniectomys (removal of bone flaps), surgeries to put the bones back in and surgery to put in a shunt to control the level of fluid in his brain. He has also had several minor procedures including shunt replacement, tracheotomy and installing a feeding tube.

Chad lost 90% of his frontal lobes (the part of your brain that controls cognitive skills, memory, decision making and emotions) due to his accident. It has been 2 years since Chad sustained his TBI and he is doing much better - Chad can walk, talk, and do most of the things that the rest of us can.

However, his injury has not left him untainted - Chad is in pain constantly. Take a minute to recall the worst headache you have ever had - pretty brutal right? Now imagine that headache being 10x worse - that is the pain he deals with day in and day out. Chad has issues with balance - some days worse than others. He also has seizures and black outs. As if all of that was not bad enough the poor kid has severe short term memory loss.

Chad still spends numerous hours each week between going to the doctor, speech therapy, physical therapy and the psychologist. He is still missing 2 pieces of his skull and is currently undergoing tissue expansion to ensure that his upcoming surgery (putting his head back together) goes well.

Recently, Chad lost his best friend - his Labrador retriever, Chase. Chad went through the emotions the way most of us do - sad, mad, you name it. Lately Chad has been talking about getting a new friend. We discussed this with his doctors and they suggested that we get Chad a service dog. They believe a service dog would help keep Chad happy and could help him with some of the issues he has acquired since his TBI. Service dogs can provide great help for people with disabilities - they can help with medications, getting their person out of bed and can alert family members of seizures.

Unfortunately, service dogs are not cheap - the average cost is between $25,000 and $40,000. If our family had the money to go out and buy one on our own, we would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, we just do not have that kind of money sitting around and there is no way we can afford to pay for one on our own.

Long story made short - we are asking for your help. Any amount that you can donate to the cause would help tremendously.  If you can find it in your heart to help us get my kid brother a service dog, me, my mom and my kid brother would  be forever greatful. 

Here is a pic of Chad with my dog Cogsley. Doggies make Chad very happy, but my dog can't do what a service dog can...

One last thing, I know Chad is my brother and I might be slightly biased but... he is one truly amazing individual. He has beaten all of the odds (and believe me there have been a lot of them) and he has done it all with a smile on his face. While most of us sit here and whine about minor injuries, my kid brother just says it could always be worse. How freaking awesome is that?

If you are reading this G - I love you. You are the strongest and most caring person that I know. Your will to get up and push through the day even when it is obvious that you are in severe pain absolutely amazes me. I am proud of you and am lucky to have you as my little brother. Love you G!