Help Wesley Fight Dravet Syndrome With A Seizure Alert Dog

For those of you who don’t know us. We are the Zakovsky Family & we live outside of Raleigh, NC. My name is Cassie & I am Wesley’s mom & Robert is Wesley’s Dad.

Robert & I Met in February of 2018. From the moment we met we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our days together. Exact 1 year to the date, of us meeting, we welcomed Wesley into the world. He was perfect and healthy in every way.

June 10, 2019, at 4 months old he experienced his first seizure which lasted well over an hour and required 3 rounds of medication to stop it. The doctors at the time told us it was febrile due to being hours after his 4 months vaccinations. 2 months later,August 4 he had another seizure but this one was not attached to a fever, he was just being a kid and was swimming.

This was only the beginning of Wesley’s & our journey with Dravet Syndrome. Dravet Syndrome is an extremely rare form of epilepsy affecting about 35,000 people worldwide. Dravet Syndrome is a drug resistant form of epilepsy making it nearly impossible to achieve seizure freedom. Wesley has experienced nearly every type of seizure. But at the moment the one type that is highest in frequency is the nocturnal ones. He has a Vagal Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implanted in his chest to help control his seizures but he still has them frequently.

When Wesley is asleep has a seizure. We use a camera to see watch him sleep at night that alerts for repetitive movements indicating seizure activity. Along with the camera, either one of us sleeps with Wes to ensure nothing is missed.

Aside from the seizures individuals with Dravet Syndrome face many challenges including speech and intellectual delays, mobility decline, autism, and feeding issues. The risk of SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) is a constant fear for families like ours. SUDEP and Accident-related deaths are the leading causes of death in persons with Dravet syndrome.

We are now seeking to get a Seizure Alert Dog for Wesley. These highly skilled dogs can catch falls, alert caregivers to seizures, monitor children at night & help with sleep quality. Most importantly, they can significantly improve Wesley’s quality of life and safety.

Our goal is to raise funds to help pay for the cost of a dog for Wesley. We believe this is the next best option we have to assist Wesley and our family to ensure safety for Wesley while sleeping, playing, at school & in the community. We are asking for your support through donations & sharing Wesley’s story.

Wesley is a brave 6 year old who loves to play baseball, watch baseball, listen to music, bluey, riding his bike & being outside. He has fought his life bravely so far & we will continue to do all we can to provide him the best life while we have him.

The organization we are using is the following: https://mikeburkel.com/