Our family is raising money to provide my 13-year-old son with a diabetic alert and autism service dog. Calvin has Autism and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in September of this year. Before we found out, Calvin was a super happy and healthy teenager. He has a hard time making friends, but that didn't stop his outgoing personality. He loves to create YouTube videos, and he wants to recreate the dinosaurs one day.

Out of the blue, Calvin was throwing up every day, barely eating, and losing a lot of weight. We went to the doctor, where they told us it was a combination of a bug and puberty. We went to urgent care, where they told us it was acid reflux. After many visits, we tried our luck at the emergency room. We found out Calvin was in Diabetic Ketoacidosis, and he had Type 1 Diabetes. His A1C was at 13.1%! They had to transfer him by ambulance to a bigger hospital where they were better equipped to treat him. After a couple of days in the hospital, he was released, and we were able to take him home.

Since then, we have been battling against 350-point highs and 40-point lows! His blood sugar has been a rollercoaster, and we cannot stabilize him. He recently went into his honeymoon phase; that is when the pancreas starts working again, and it has created even more of a struggle. We have to constantly change his doses and ratios. We have to wake him up almost every night to either give him insulin or give him fast carbs so we can level him out. He barely gets to sleep a full night!

In the midst of all this, he has stayed positive and upbeat, taking his insulin without issues and continuing to be the kind, loving child he is. But he still asks if he will ever be normal. He just wants some stability. We are trying to raise money to provide him with a service dog for diabetes and autism. We have found a training facility, Doggie Does Good, that will custom train a puppy for both services. The puppy will be trained to sense highs, lows, and rapid spikes and drops before his meter can detect them. The puppy will be able to get his diabetic supplies for him in case of an emergency and will also wake him up in the middle of the night if he drops low! This puppy will also be trained to alert calvin to potential social cues, reduce stress and anxiety, interrupt certain behaviors related to Calvin's autism, help Calvin block out overwhelming stimuli, and provide tactical stimulation. It will take anywhere from a year to 16 months to receive a service dog. He would love to have a friend that is by his side to protect him and be there for him. All he wants is to take back his life and stabilize his body. Anything is appreciated! God bless!