Diabetic Alert Dog for Shane
Donation protected
Well for starters, let me start off by saying that never did I ever think I would create a GoFundMe...especially not for myself. This isn’t entirely for myself, but it’s for my husband of *almost* 1 month. He’s my whole world. So...it’s basically for myself.
As some of our close friends, family, and co-workers know, Shane suffered an incredibly scary bout of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) on the night of November 2nd... technically it was in the early morning hours of the 3rd. I woke up to him drenched in a cold sweat, totally incoherent, with the beginnings of a seizure. I was scared. But...I tried to jump into gear and do what I could to get my husband the help (sugar) he needed. Long story short, he ended up falling and suffered a fractured scapula. He then went into a full seizure, and even stopped breathing at one point while I was on the phone with 911. Like I said, SCARY. ✏️Side-note: I checked his blood sugar with his glucometer at the beginning (when I woke up and noticed what was happening) and it read 72. By the time the paramedics got there, he had dropped to 38. He dropped fast and hard. I’m lucky to still have him...let’s just be real honest. So once again, like I said, SCARY. We’ve had a few nighttime lows like this that seem to creep up out of the middle of nowhere and essentially attack him when he’s/we are most vulnerable... asleep at night. After this last scare, it’s very difficult to sleep through the whole night. I find myself waking up multiple times throughout the night - I immediately reach out to touch his arm to see if he’s in a cold sweat — the all to familiar, palpable, physical sign of a ‘low’. So far, so good (roughly 3 nights now). But...he’s been trying to keep himself on the high side of his blood sugar range so as to not fall into a low over night. This is a temporary solution (if we could even call it that). Extended periods of high blood sugar can be just as damaging to a Type 1 Diabetic in the long (or not so long) run. That being said...I’ll just get to the point. Here I go...saying something that I never say, nor ever thought I’d say on a platform such as this, but... I’m putting my pride aside for the sake of my beloved. We. Need. Help.
So throughout the week, I’ve been looking into various types of assistance for Type 1 diabetics. I’ve also talked with loved ones, friends, friends from the park, you name it.... one of my coworkers said “He needs one of those alert dogs!” At the time I was like, sheesh, yeah...wouldn’t that be nice? A dog that can catch a blood sugar low before it’s too late and 911 must be called? A dog that could physically wake Shane up if he started to drop in the middle of the night? What a dream!
...
But then I started thinking about it and looking into it and found that DADs (Diabetic Alert Dogs) are very much a viable means of assistance, security, and peace of mind for Type 1 Diabetics. So...then I started thinking...could that actually be an option? Could we really be so blessed to have a dog that could alert Shane at the sign of a ‘low’ or a ‘high’? I started getting more serious in my “looking into” process. But I was quickly discouraged when I saw the cost of a DAD. I was pretty sure that would never be an option for us. But...that’s not my call. The answer is still to be determined.
After talking to my SAINT of a mother, she said “If God wills it, he will also make a way.”... so I decided to open up to the idea that we could possibly receive this blessing. He’s blessed us before. His blessings are immeasurable. Who am I to say this one it too big? This one is too self-centered...who am I to make that call? Who am I to put a limit on God’s favor for Shane’s life? So here I am. Typing up a bio for a GoFundMe.... If you know me (and my personal vow to never ask for help) you know this is WILD for me...
So this is where I leave you. If you feel so inclined to help, we would greatly appreciate it. That phrase doesn’t even do it justice, but due to mild sleep deprivation (kidding but not ), I can’t come up with the appropriate wording to express our gratitude. We would appreciate from the depths of our being. Truly. You have no idea. And if you made it this far, truly, thank you for reading this. For real. Thank you.
Most Sincerely,
Emily
As some of our close friends, family, and co-workers know, Shane suffered an incredibly scary bout of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) on the night of November 2nd... technically it was in the early morning hours of the 3rd. I woke up to him drenched in a cold sweat, totally incoherent, with the beginnings of a seizure. I was scared. But...I tried to jump into gear and do what I could to get my husband the help (sugar) he needed. Long story short, he ended up falling and suffered a fractured scapula. He then went into a full seizure, and even stopped breathing at one point while I was on the phone with 911. Like I said, SCARY. ✏️Side-note: I checked his blood sugar with his glucometer at the beginning (when I woke up and noticed what was happening) and it read 72. By the time the paramedics got there, he had dropped to 38. He dropped fast and hard. I’m lucky to still have him...let’s just be real honest. So once again, like I said, SCARY. We’ve had a few nighttime lows like this that seem to creep up out of the middle of nowhere and essentially attack him when he’s/we are most vulnerable... asleep at night. After this last scare, it’s very difficult to sleep through the whole night. I find myself waking up multiple times throughout the night - I immediately reach out to touch his arm to see if he’s in a cold sweat — the all to familiar, palpable, physical sign of a ‘low’. So far, so good (roughly 3 nights now). But...he’s been trying to keep himself on the high side of his blood sugar range so as to not fall into a low over night. This is a temporary solution (if we could even call it that). Extended periods of high blood sugar can be just as damaging to a Type 1 Diabetic in the long (or not so long) run. That being said...I’ll just get to the point. Here I go...saying something that I never say, nor ever thought I’d say on a platform such as this, but... I’m putting my pride aside for the sake of my beloved. We. Need. Help.
So throughout the week, I’ve been looking into various types of assistance for Type 1 diabetics. I’ve also talked with loved ones, friends, friends from the park, you name it.... one of my coworkers said “He needs one of those alert dogs!” At the time I was like, sheesh, yeah...wouldn’t that be nice? A dog that can catch a blood sugar low before it’s too late and 911 must be called? A dog that could physically wake Shane up if he started to drop in the middle of the night? What a dream!
...
But then I started thinking about it and looking into it and found that DADs (Diabetic Alert Dogs) are very much a viable means of assistance, security, and peace of mind for Type 1 Diabetics. So...then I started thinking...could that actually be an option? Could we really be so blessed to have a dog that could alert Shane at the sign of a ‘low’ or a ‘high’? I started getting more serious in my “looking into” process. But I was quickly discouraged when I saw the cost of a DAD. I was pretty sure that would never be an option for us. But...that’s not my call. The answer is still to be determined.
After talking to my SAINT of a mother, she said “If God wills it, he will also make a way.”... so I decided to open up to the idea that we could possibly receive this blessing. He’s blessed us before. His blessings are immeasurable. Who am I to say this one it too big? This one is too self-centered...who am I to make that call? Who am I to put a limit on God’s favor for Shane’s life? So here I am. Typing up a bio for a GoFundMe.... If you know me (and my personal vow to never ask for help) you know this is WILD for me...
So this is where I leave you. If you feel so inclined to help, we would greatly appreciate it. That phrase doesn’t even do it justice, but due to mild sleep deprivation (kidding but not ), I can’t come up with the appropriate wording to express our gratitude. We would appreciate from the depths of our being. Truly. You have no idea. And if you made it this far, truly, thank you for reading this. For real. Thank you.
Most Sincerely,
Emily
Organizer
Emily Wellesley
Organizer
Pampa, TX
