Team Sammy
Donation protected
Hello my name is Sammy and I am 7 years old. I live with my mom and my older brother Johnathan who is 20 years old. I love animals of every kind and I enjoy playing outside with our dog which is a golden retriever lab mix named Scooter.
I am developmentally delayed and I have epilepsy from a conditioned called Heterotopia. Heterotopia is a neurological disorder caused by clumps of grey matter being located in the wrong part of my brain. This makes me a special miracle because boys with this condition normally do not live past 6 months in their mothers
womb. And the ones that do survive typically have mild mental retardation..
So what is the biggest obstacle I have to overcome due to my condition? It's the epilepsy. Epilepsy is a group of related disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent seizures. There are different types of epilepsy and seizures. Epilepsy drugs are prescribed to control seizures. I take two medicines to control my seizures. The medicine works but not without their own set of side effects. The doctors have to continue to change my medications and dosage until we get it right.
I suffer from comlex partial generalized seizures, which means all areas of the brain are involved. Someone who suffers from generalized seizures usually experiences the following:
The person experiencing such a seizure may cry out or make some sound, or stiffen for several of seconds to a minute and then have rhythmic movements of the arms and legs. Often the rythmic movements slow before stopping. Eyes are sometimes open. The person may appear to not to be breathing and actually turn blue. This may be followed by a period of deep noisy breathes. The return to consciousness is gradual and the person may be confused for quiet some time--minutes to hour. Loss of urine is common. The person will frequently be confused after a generalized seizure.
So imagine that you are at school with all your friends and BAM you start hallucinating sounds, smells, and images then you get nauseous and scared. Within seconds, your body is jolting uncontrollably. Hopefully you do not wet yourself, vomit, choke on your tongue, don't injure yourself from hitting your body on the hard floor, or shred your muscles and dislocate joints from the extreme shaking. Next, you wake up with no recollection of what happened, you are not sure where you are, or who you are with. You are exhausted. You are sore. You are disoriented. You are fearful. Can you imagine?!?! Well, welcome to a glimpse of my life as an epileptic,
So how can you help? By assisting me in this journey- a journey for an epilepsy response dog. A seizure dog could really help me. A service dog for epilepsy is one that has been specially trained to live and work with people who have epilepsy. The dog will be trained to bark and alert an adult when I am having a seizure outside or in another room. He will even lie next to me while I'm having a seizure to prevent injury. The dog will lay with me afterwards to comfort me. He can even be trained to help me to a safe place to rest. Plus, he will be my friend and companion no matter the circumstances I may face.
Please open up your hearts and checkbook! Donate whatever you can no matter how big or small every little bit helps.
I am developmentally delayed and I have epilepsy from a conditioned called Heterotopia. Heterotopia is a neurological disorder caused by clumps of grey matter being located in the wrong part of my brain. This makes me a special miracle because boys with this condition normally do not live past 6 months in their mothers
womb. And the ones that do survive typically have mild mental retardation..
So what is the biggest obstacle I have to overcome due to my condition? It's the epilepsy. Epilepsy is a group of related disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent seizures. There are different types of epilepsy and seizures. Epilepsy drugs are prescribed to control seizures. I take two medicines to control my seizures. The medicine works but not without their own set of side effects. The doctors have to continue to change my medications and dosage until we get it right.
I suffer from comlex partial generalized seizures, which means all areas of the brain are involved. Someone who suffers from generalized seizures usually experiences the following:
The person experiencing such a seizure may cry out or make some sound, or stiffen for several of seconds to a minute and then have rhythmic movements of the arms and legs. Often the rythmic movements slow before stopping. Eyes are sometimes open. The person may appear to not to be breathing and actually turn blue. This may be followed by a period of deep noisy breathes. The return to consciousness is gradual and the person may be confused for quiet some time--minutes to hour. Loss of urine is common. The person will frequently be confused after a generalized seizure.
So imagine that you are at school with all your friends and BAM you start hallucinating sounds, smells, and images then you get nauseous and scared. Within seconds, your body is jolting uncontrollably. Hopefully you do not wet yourself, vomit, choke on your tongue, don't injure yourself from hitting your body on the hard floor, or shred your muscles and dislocate joints from the extreme shaking. Next, you wake up with no recollection of what happened, you are not sure where you are, or who you are with. You are exhausted. You are sore. You are disoriented. You are fearful. Can you imagine?!?! Well, welcome to a glimpse of my life as an epileptic,
So how can you help? By assisting me in this journey- a journey for an epilepsy response dog. A seizure dog could really help me. A service dog for epilepsy is one that has been specially trained to live and work with people who have epilepsy. The dog will be trained to bark and alert an adult when I am having a seizure outside or in another room. He will even lie next to me while I'm having a seizure to prevent injury. The dog will lay with me afterwards to comfort me. He can even be trained to help me to a safe place to rest. Plus, he will be my friend and companion no matter the circumstances I may face.
Please open up your hearts and checkbook! Donate whatever you can no matter how big or small every little bit helps.
Organizer
Chrystal Coffey
Organizer
Lenoir, NC
