Help Sam get his seizure service dog

Sam Hill is a 15-year-old boy diagnosed with Autism and Refractory Epilepsy (drug resistant epilepsy). Medications and surgical interventions have been unable to minimize his seizure activity in the three years he’s been treating for his epilepsy. He can't be home by himself. He has video monitoring devices in his "private" spaces that alert us of possible seizure activity. He can't go for a walk by himself or even walk into a gas station for a few minutes alone because seizures happen at a moment’s notice. He won't be getting his driver's license any time soon or be able to enjoy any other activities by himself that a teenage boy should. Epilepsy has completely changed his, and his whole family’s lives as they all work to navigate around certain aspects of his condition.

Sam has been approved for a Seizure Response Service Dog. This has the potential to change his life in a huge way. Many of our concerns focus on his safety while out in public, like having a seizure while crossing the street or collapsing in a public space and injuring himself. Sam is also at a higher risk of SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) because his seizures aren't yet under control, and he has several at night. A service dog will help him lead a more typical life and allow everyone to sleep easier knowing that we will be alerted to seizures. A service dog is trained to stay with him, keeping him physically safe, and push the button on a device which notifies emergency contacts of the event and his GPS location. This allows his family to either come to his aid or notify emergency services. A service dog will also comfort him after a seizure, which could improve his recovery time substantially. This could also decrease his time spent recovering in the Resource Room at school and spend more time in the classroom with his peers. It can take 1-2 years once you've been approved to be matched with your dog. We hope for Sam to be matched with a service dog prior to graduation, so he has more options for his future. Sam’s family hopes he won’t need a fulltime caregiver, but he does need someone/something who can ensure he gets emergency care when needed, and a service dog can do just that.

All donations will go toward the cost of the service dog. The family is currently working with Highland Canine in Harmony, North Carolina. The general cost of a Seizure Response Service Dog is roughly $16,000, and there will be additional costs for training to meet some of his needs related to autism and travel costs for two trainers to transport the dog to North Dakota for in-person training. The estimated total is between $20,000 - $25,000. Sam has been approved for placement, but to be officially put on the list for placement, we need to send a deposit of $2,500. Any help is greatly appreciated!!