Help get Brooklyn a Diabetic Alert Dog
Donation protected
Brooklyn Moore is 10 years old and “Baby A” of a triple blessing. She is a happy-go-lucky, kind, smart, God-loving girl who battles Type 1 Diabetes. Brooklyn and her triplet siblings were battling a summertime cold when they were a little over 2 years old and Brooklyn’s body attacked the beta cells that produce insulin instead of the cold virus.
After days of noticing she was super thirsty and wetting through more diapers than usual, we brought her to the Pediatrician. They did a finger poke to check her blood sugar levels but her blood sugars were too high to even register. That’s when they told us that no illness could cause that happen and that she had Juvenile Type I Diabetes.
That day, September 11, 2011, almost eight years ago will forever have two earth shattering meanings to us. The day America mourns together because of the terrorist attacks, and the day our Brooklyn Raye was labeled a Type 1 Diabetic.
The doctor told us to go home and pack bags for a 4-5 day stay in the hospital while we got a crash course in life with diabetes. I still remember the heart break that day and the days/weeks/months ahead brought. Pinning her down to do insulin shots while she cried out, ”Please Mommy no, I promise to be a good girl!” How does one explain to a toddler that it’s not a punishment, but rather it’s keeping her alive?
The span of the next few years proved to be challenging in new and evolving ways. The constant high and low swings in blood sugar, as so many things factor into keeping her blood sugars in a safe range, and the reality of swings too large they could be fatal. This constant reality and fear is what always lingers in the back of our minds. You just never know. Since her diagnosis, we’ve continued to battle her blood sugar numbers and it has been challenging. Even with an amazing Endocrinologist team, Brooklyn’s body continues to keep us all on our toes and her A1C is indicative of that.
As you can see from the pictures of her A1C graphs (which measures your average blood sugar level over the past 3 months to determine how well the diabetes is being able to be managed), her A1C is not good. The doctors were hoping that by her getting a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) her A1C would improve but it hasn’t. We’ve had our fair share of scares with blood sugar swings being too high/low and have landed her in the ER and ICU.
Within the past few months, with the constant changing of hormones, metabolism, growth, and activities, we’ve had two very close calls with Brooklyn. These events have scared the heck out of us. The Endocrinologist has told us its only going to get more challenging and that a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD) is a great safety net for her and us. DADs are trained to be hypersensitive to the scent of the owners breath which changes almost instantly as blood sugar levels change. A DAD would be aware of the high/low coming well-before Brooklyn would feel it or her CGM would catch it. CGMs have a 30 minute delay and is off as much as +10/-10%.
Brooklyn was recently approved for a wish from Wishes & More. She told them her one wish is to get a DAD. They informed us that they cannot afford the entire cost of a DAD because they are so expensive, however they “should” be able to gift her $5,000 - $6,000 towards one.
After a lot of research, we have found a very reputable DAD company: Diabetic Alert Dogs of America in Las Vegas, NV. Unfortunately, there are no local Minnesota DAD organizations (or even within our surrounding states) that do DAD for kids. The training is so strenuous and takes significantly longer to train for the younger kids.
We’ve began the process with Diabetic Alert Dogs of America to get Brooklyn her service dog. The total cost is $15,000. Wishes & More will donate $5,000 - $6,000 leaving us with a balance of $9,000 -$10,000.
We have applied for grants at the local/state/national level in hopes of raising money to help us make this Wish of Brooklyn’s happen. However, none of them have came to fruition as of now, which it’s been a few months now. So setting up a GFM was the only option.
After days of noticing she was super thirsty and wetting through more diapers than usual, we brought her to the Pediatrician. They did a finger poke to check her blood sugar levels but her blood sugars were too high to even register. That’s when they told us that no illness could cause that happen and that she had Juvenile Type I Diabetes.
That day, September 11, 2011, almost eight years ago will forever have two earth shattering meanings to us. The day America mourns together because of the terrorist attacks, and the day our Brooklyn Raye was labeled a Type 1 Diabetic.
The doctor told us to go home and pack bags for a 4-5 day stay in the hospital while we got a crash course in life with diabetes. I still remember the heart break that day and the days/weeks/months ahead brought. Pinning her down to do insulin shots while she cried out, ”Please Mommy no, I promise to be a good girl!” How does one explain to a toddler that it’s not a punishment, but rather it’s keeping her alive?
The span of the next few years proved to be challenging in new and evolving ways. The constant high and low swings in blood sugar, as so many things factor into keeping her blood sugars in a safe range, and the reality of swings too large they could be fatal. This constant reality and fear is what always lingers in the back of our minds. You just never know. Since her diagnosis, we’ve continued to battle her blood sugar numbers and it has been challenging. Even with an amazing Endocrinologist team, Brooklyn’s body continues to keep us all on our toes and her A1C is indicative of that.
As you can see from the pictures of her A1C graphs (which measures your average blood sugar level over the past 3 months to determine how well the diabetes is being able to be managed), her A1C is not good. The doctors were hoping that by her getting a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) her A1C would improve but it hasn’t. We’ve had our fair share of scares with blood sugar swings being too high/low and have landed her in the ER and ICU.
Within the past few months, with the constant changing of hormones, metabolism, growth, and activities, we’ve had two very close calls with Brooklyn. These events have scared the heck out of us. The Endocrinologist has told us its only going to get more challenging and that a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD) is a great safety net for her and us. DADs are trained to be hypersensitive to the scent of the owners breath which changes almost instantly as blood sugar levels change. A DAD would be aware of the high/low coming well-before Brooklyn would feel it or her CGM would catch it. CGMs have a 30 minute delay and is off as much as +10/-10%.
Brooklyn was recently approved for a wish from Wishes & More. She told them her one wish is to get a DAD. They informed us that they cannot afford the entire cost of a DAD because they are so expensive, however they “should” be able to gift her $5,000 - $6,000 towards one.
After a lot of research, we have found a very reputable DAD company: Diabetic Alert Dogs of America in Las Vegas, NV. Unfortunately, there are no local Minnesota DAD organizations (or even within our surrounding states) that do DAD for kids. The training is so strenuous and takes significantly longer to train for the younger kids.
We’ve began the process with Diabetic Alert Dogs of America to get Brooklyn her service dog. The total cost is $15,000. Wishes & More will donate $5,000 - $6,000 leaving us with a balance of $9,000 -$10,000.
We have applied for grants at the local/state/national level in hopes of raising money to help us make this Wish of Brooklyn’s happen. However, none of them have came to fruition as of now, which it’s been a few months now. So setting up a GFM was the only option.
Organizer
Bonita Kristy
Organizer
Maple Grove, MN