Casey’s Diabetic-Alert Dog Elvis

Hello, We are Lisa and Sam Seitles. We have four wonderful children, Jaiden (10), Casey (8), Ashton (6), and Sora (4). On March 1, 2021 our lives changed forever. 

At age 5, we rushed our son Casey to the emergency room at death’s door. He came home with a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1): a chronic, unpredictable, and complicated autoimmune disease requiring 24-7 vigilance to stay safe and healthy. His body had attacked his pancreas, leaving him forever dependent on insulin and all the medical equipment necessary to administer it and monitor its effects. In the last 2.5 years, Casey has endured thousands of needle sticks, innumerable reinsertions of CGMs (continuous glucose monitors) and insulin pump infusion needles onto his body, and various life-threatening situations. We are proud of his spirit and resolve in navigating this difficult T1 journey. 

Recently Casey was diagnosed with lactose intolerance after being tested for suspected Celiac Disease. His body is unable to digest lactose, a type of sugar found in milk and other dairy products. Treatment focuses on avoiding dairy products, ingesting lactose-free products instead, or taking lactase supplements. We are grateful he doesn’t have Celiac, but were sad to learn he does have a second lifelong medical condition. He has accepted all his doctors appointments, an intestinal biopsy and other medical procedures, and various concerning diagnoses with admirable stoicism, just as he does the incessant demands of regulating his T1 every day. 

For the last two years, I have been writing a monthly newspaper column about life with T1 to help show what the disease means for families and especially a young child. So many things affect blood glucose, making it hard to control. Both its lows and highs (hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia) are dangerous for Casey because they can quickly become life threatening and harm multiple organ systems in the longterm. Casey understands both the challenges and stakes in controlling his blood glucose. He gracefully carries the weight of this knowledge as he takes increasing responsibility for managing his T1. Managing T1 is complicated partly because blood glucose levels can be unpredictable and carbohydrates in meals hard to determine. We are grateful for the new technology in managing diabetes because it helps Casey manage the constant ups and downs in blood glucose.  But it’s not foolproof. Continuous glucose monitors report Casey’s blood glucose every five minutes, but the glucose levels they report are 15-20 minutes old. A lot can happen in that time. And the technology sometimes fails, as has Casey’s insulin pump, at times putting Casey in real danger. 

Casey is only 8 years old navigating both a lifetime autoimmune disease and now a lifetime dairy intolerance. A few months ago, Casey asked us for one particular thing that would make a big difference in his life. We recently surprised -shocked- him by telling him we arranged two months ago to bring his wish to reality. By the end of the year, he will be receiving a special companion, a diabetic-alert dog named Elvis! It usually takes over a year to get such a dog, but we got lucky. Elvis has already undergone considerable training so can join Casey in December! Elvis will help keep Casey safer in real time, give us more peace of mind as Casey ages, and reduce some of the medical and emotional burdens Casey will face. 

Such highly trained dogs are very expensive. Proceeds from this GoFundMe will go towards the cost of CASEY’S COMPANION. Since Elvis is arriving in December we need to raise these funds faster than normal. We truly appreciate all of Casey’s SUPPORTERS. You can help give him the gift of a truly positive life change as he continues his journey with one challenging disease while starting out with another lifelong condition. 

We will update you here on progress in Elvis’s journey to -and with -Casey, as well as on our Facebook pages. Please help us spread the word about CASEY’S COMPANION Elvis by sharing our fundraiser. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your support.