Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to stop by our GoFundMe. My name is Ethan and my family and I are trying to raise money for my sick brother Aidan to get a service dog. Aidan has been extremely physically ill for as long as I could remember; a service dog would help him regain some aspects of a normal life. He’s been diagnosed with several issues such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, narcolepsy, GI issues, POTS, Non-24, and the extensive list goes on. With all of these issues, he, unfortunately, hasn’t been able to leave the house in years, other than going to doctors’ appointments. Due to this, he also hasn’t been able to make friends and is extremely limited regarding social interaction. Ultimately, it's a very sad and hard experience.

Because of Aidan’s medical issues, the dog would have to be specially trained for his specific issues. For example, the dog will help him if he falls asleep in an unsafe place, to wake him up to take medication, and if he sleepwalks due to his sleep disorder the dog can help safely guide him back to bed. Service dogs have been known to help with depression and anxiety, and confidence to simply leave the house. For most conditions, service dogs are able to sense conditions other people have. For example, people with seizures give off a chemical scent to dogs so they can alert their owner and catch them so the owner doesn’t get hurt. Narcolepsy is different because our bodies don’t give off a scent when we fall asleep, therefore it’s a lot trickier to teach service dogs for this and a lot pricier than anticipated.

Since Aidan’s issues are so unique, there are only a few places in the USA to train the dog. New Hope Assistance Dogs is one of them.

We have been in contact with New Hope for a while now and finally got Aidan accepted into their program, which has been a big relief. Thankfully, we will only need to pay half the price of the service dog, the other half paid for by New Hope. Unfortunately, our financial burden is still $18,000. Although I wish we could cover the price of the service dog, we are struggling with money ourselves, being a disabled family of four, three boys, and a mom. We, unfortunately, don’t have the ability to get an $18,000 service dog without a lot of help.

We have thrown together countless yard sales and bake sales trying to get to our goal, but with our own physical problems, it has been a struggle. With this money, we can help Aidan have a better and bigger life than he currently has.

Thank you again for taking the time to stop and read our GoFundMe for Aidan’s service dog. Even if you can’t donate, we really appreciate you taking the time to read our story. If you could try and help spread the word and share our story with others we would really appreciate it. Every penny, view, and share will help us towards our goal of getting Aidan the service dog he needs.

Leigh Ballew's Facebook (Mom)

Ethan Ballew's Instagram (Brother)

New Hope Assistance Dogs