Help get Brooke a service dog!

Hello! My name is Paige, and I’ve started this GoFundMe on behalf of my 15-year-old cousin Brooke. Brooke is a member of the color guard at her school, an A+ student, and she is autistic and diabetic. She was diagnosed with autism at an early age, and her most common struggles with autism include executive dysfunction and high amounts of anxiety. She was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes in middle school and is still dealing with the transitions and day-to-day complications that come with managing her sugar levels on top of her struggles with autism. Although she’s shy around new people, she is truly sunshine personified. Once in your life, she will be your number-one hype woman. Brooke has made me feel loved every day for the past 16 years, and I‘d love to make her feel the same warmth and comfort she brings to others. Managing her autism and diabetes is a huge stressor for Brooke, and she deserves a chance to gain a friend to help her manage the heavy load she carries daily.

Brooke has difficulty waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of her Dexcom alarm, which is a huge safety problem. If her sugar is too low for too long, it can lead to coma or death. She also suffers from alarm fatigue and has to depend on her phone 24/7 to keep track of her sugars. Brooke has a device implanted in her body to keep track of her sugars, which is particularly difficult for her as a person with autism who is extra sensitive to sensory changes. Sometimes, she cannot physically get up when her sugar is too low, and she is unable to get herself a snack or juice to raise her sugar, which is very dangerous when she inevitably must be home alone at times. She also has a lot of anxiety related to her condition and often suffers low self-esteem from not being able to enjoy food and treats like those around her. She sometimes feels lonely in her condition as the only diabetic person among her family and friends. With her autism, she struggles with remembering and performing everyday tasks, which is a huge problem when she forgets to take insulin with her to school or anywhere else she goes. Sometimes, she must spend hours in the nurse’s station at school because of her fluctuating sugar levels, and has missed many hours of instruction due to factors outside of her control. Diabetes is a barrier to participating in school and extracurricular activities, and she must worry far more than her peers about her health.

Brooke is a huge animal lover, and I know she would benefit immensely from a service dog trained specifically to help her with her needs. Brooke loves my two dogs, but she has wanted nothing more than a dog of her own for years. We have already spoken with a training agency, and are in need of $15,000 to get Brooke the service dog she deserves.