Hello everyone! Many of you know that my sister Amanda is a type 1 diabetic. Amanda was diagnosed over 20 years ago. Amanda had been extremely sick for over a year. She saw multiple specialists and was misdiagnosed with many different health issues. It wasn’t until finally a nurse practitioner listened to her saying something wasn’t feeling right inside of her. She had been sick for so long with stomach issues, headaches, and more. She read her extensive medical history and asked family history. Blood work was ordered and came back that her blood sugars were over 600 and she was rushed to the hospital. They looked at her A1C levels and saw she had been diabetic for at least six months and no one caught it. Because of being undiagnosed for so long, Amanda’s health has taken a serious impact. Her doctors have said she is at a long-term health risk due to how much of a toll this disease has taken on her body. Her eyes have taken a hit, she has nerve ending pain and neuropathy. While thankful for modern technology, it still is not fast enough or accurate enough for her. She often cannot feel the lows or highs coming on due to the damage this disease has caused. Amanda changed her job and even with less on her feet and shorter days, she still struggles with leg pain.

Because of this, we are working with an organization to have Amanda matched with a service dog. A trained diabetic alert dog can catch a low or high 15-30 mins before technology can. Having a trained dog will help her quality of life. It may take a year to be matched, but we are hopeful she’ll find a dog sooner. A diabetic alert dog can cost over $70,000 and these amazing organizations help bring the cost down because of donations. We are hoping to raise enough money for Amanda’s portion of the cost for the dog, travel, as well as any unexpected expenses that occur as she adopts the dog. Amanda is one of the most generous, kind-hearted, caring individuals I know. If your child had the pleasure of being in her care, you know she gives everything her all. We ask you to consider helping us give her the best chance at better health we can. Thank you!