Help Zoey Get a Life-Saving Diabetic Service Dog

Zoey is my 11-year-old beautiful daughter who suffers from Type 3C diabetes. This rare type of diabetes is caused by disorders of the pancreas.

This disease came on quickly and unexpectedly three years ago when she was on life support in Chicago and went into a DKA attack. At this time, her pancreas began to leak fluids and began to necrotize (die).

Finally, after 21 days on life support and another 23 days in the hospital, she was able to go home, unfortunately only to return in a few days. At this point, we decided it was time to do something else because this was no life for a child to have to be in this much pain every day of life.

The following February, in Cincinnati, Ohio, she had a Total Pancreatectomy with Islet Autotransplantation (TPIAT). The surgery removes the pancreas, spleen, appendix, and gallbladder, and then completely reroutes the gastrointestinal tract. After the pancreas is removed, it is dissolved and the islet cells, which are the cells in Zoey's body that create insulin, were harvested and then transplanted back into her liver. It takes time for these cells to return to production and to then start creating insulin. Unfortunately, for Zoey, they were only able to harvest about half of the cells needed to function without diabetic control.

For the past year and a half, we've been monitoring her glucose levels with the latest electronic devices and insulin pumps, and she's been doing amazingly well handling diabetes on her own. We will be using the electronic monitoring devices, but these are not able to handle her extremes, and early warning signs are what will help her islet cells continue to function.

Her medical care team has recommended we get for Zoey a Diabetic Service Dog. With their superior scenting abilities, Diabetic Service Dogs can actually sense chemical changes taking place when blood sugar goes too high or low in a person with diabetes. These loyal and loving dogs are usually paired with an individual for life. They recognize the scent changes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), recognize breath scent changes of high blood sugar, alert the diabetic to take medicine, retrieve glucose and medication, and even retrieve a phone or dial 911.

Due to the high level of training required, it takes time and a large investment to obtain, pair, and then train this special dog for Zoey.

Would you consider a donation to help us with this life-saving animal for Zoey, and if you are so moved, share this with your friends and family?