Help us Help Andy With a Seizure Alert Dog

Andy was diagnosed with a rare genetic anomaly, Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome (NCBRS) via genetic testing in March of 2022. After a long course of trying to understand why Andy was failing to thrive, we continue this uncertain journey even with a diagnosis. He is one of 270 cases worldwide; there are only a handful of scientific papers that have studied this population, and we are left only knowing this: he will fall within a spectrum of cognitive impairment, speech impairment (possibly non-verbal), and is likely to develop epilepsy.

In July of 2022, Andy had his first partial focal seizure, and has had many since then. He has his seizures in the early morning hours, when we are usually sleeping. Luckily, all but one time, we have been alerted in some way to help intervene and give Andy his rescue medication so that the seizure stops. The one time we did not get Andy within the first few minutes, he was seizing for hours and was left with left sided temporary paralysis that took a few days to resolve. Thankfully his young brain was able to recover and he was able to walk and use his upper body again.

At this point his seizures seem to be controlled with medication and he has been seizure free since May of 2023. The one thing we know for certain is that being alerted that Andy is having a seizure could save his life. Prolonged seizures often lead to motor and intellectual impairment, and if we can be alerted to his seizures, we can potentially help him continue to make forward progress in his development.

We are looking to raise money to get Andy his own highly trained, medical alert dog that will sleep with him and be by his side at all times to alert us of any seizure activity. This will not only help Andy, but will help us as a family to have some peace of mind. We have been in contact with an amazing service dog agency, and they have a female golden retriever waiting to be trained for Andy. Please help us continue to watch over him and keep him smiling!

WE ARE FEELING SOOOO LOVED! WE REACHED OUR GOAL IN 3 HOURS!!!! Additional funds raised will be put in a trust for Andy's care. THANK YOU ALL!!!! <3