Julia and Bellevue 2022

Introduction:

Julia, 16, has a rare form of Epilepsy, and she needs a Seizure Alert Dog from Canine Partners for Life. She has just been matched with a 2-year-old Black Labrador Retriever named Bellevue. We go to training on June 6th and bring Bellevue home on June 26th, 2022. We are hoping to raise enough money to cover the cost of training the dog and expenses to bring Bellevue home. Julia has been waiting for this moment for five years, and the support Bellevue will provide can not only save Julia's life - she can give Julia her life back!

Bellevue is specially trained to detect and alert for seizures and is a fully certified Service Dog. She is a gorgeous 2-year-old Black Labrador. She will stay with Julia 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and they will care for each other. The safety Bellevue will provide can allow Julia to have independence again. We hope that it will also help us manage her seizures better with less medicine.

Julia’s seizures have been more substantial this year, and they are more dangerous, too, since she needs assistance keeping her airway open during the longer ones. We are praying Bellevue can help us avoid another Brain surgery, but we are also grateful to have surgical implant options at Columbia Presbyterian and Westchester Medical.

Background:

Julia began to experience seizures when she was four years old. After many invasive tests, it was determined she has a genetic brain malformation that causes seizures. This rare type of epilepsy is difficult to treat with medication, and Julia’s episodes come without warning, so she is constantly at risk of falling and injury. Her seizures are dangerous and life-threatening. 

Julia was able to enjoy a normal and active childhood until middle school. In 6th grade, she started having more frequent episodes that would disrupt her activities like school, taekwondo, skiing, soccer, basketball and playdates. Throughout middle school, the seizures worsened until she started collapsing with every episode, sometimes up to 10 times a day, often having to miss school or go home early. It required a tremendous amount of resources, including adding the support of a one-on-one aide, flexible support and scheduling and an extra nurse at the school.

We've tried more than a dozen epilepsy medications, countless invasive tests and 3 Brain surgeries with no success. In 2020 we opted to implant a VNS in hopes that stimulation would help reduce her seizures - but it didn’t - it gave her annoying hiccups instead. There have been many emergency visits from EMS, and countless falls, including down the stairs headfirst. She has spent a lot of time at the hospital and has had stays lasting over a month, sometimes during holidays.

We look forward to bringing home Bellevue to help us keep Julia safe. We also look forward to bringing Bellevue to the many doctor visits ahead.

Today:

The seizures make Julia medically fragile. She is constantly accompanied by a caregiver in case she needs emergency medication. The episodes are scary, and it never gets easier to endure or witness. To keep Julia safe and strong, she needs daily physical, occupational, and speech therapy at home. Because the seizure medications have many adverse effects, including fatigue, depression and nausea, Julia finds it difficult to keep up with her school schedule, let alone participate in extracurricular activities.

Julia wants to be independent. She wishes she could socialize more and connect with friends and the community. Bellevue can provide safety so Julia can participate again. 

Julia is on track to graduate High School on time or possibly take an extra year to explore the Animal Training program at BOCES. Thankfully we have had tremendous flexibility and outstanding support from our public-school district, Croton-Harmon. The entire staff at the school has always given 110% to accommodate Julia’s needs. With their help, she has been able to keep up with school even during the COVID lockdown era.

Julia is amazing!  Her character is strong, her spirit is bright and her heart is as deep as the ocean.  She is never alone but misses seeing her classmates and her freedom. She cherishes all of her relationships.  Bringing home Bellevue can make it safe for Julia to go to school again. We have all been hoping that Julia will get a service dog before she graduates High School, and the anticipation has been building for years. Everyone will be so excited to see Julia again; they will love Bellevue. This part gives us the most encouragement that Julia will go on and thrive and we look forward to releasing the fear of when her next seizure will occur.

Looking Forward:

 

Julia can already appreciate her future freedom. She is beaming with excitement for the companion and purpose. She is encouraged by the hope for a normal life again. She looks forward to sharing this experience with her family, neighbors, doctors, teachers and hopes to reconnect with her friends and more. Her support team is looking forward to the relief that Julia will have a 24-hour guardian by her side. The relief and hope Bellevue has brought to our family is already overwhelming.

We will be going to training in Pennsylvania on June 6th and return home with Bellevue on June 26th. We already know that Julia’s life will forever be changed by her partnership with Bellevue and we are bursting with excitement for the journey now. We are busy studying the training manual and setting up our home to welcome Bellevue in style. We appreciate your support in bringing Bellevue home and we can’t wait to see Julia get back to living with her new companion!


CPL:

This is all possible due to the volunteers and donors who make Canine Partners for Life run. It costs an estimated 30K to raise one service dog and the demand for well-trained companion dogs is higher than ever. We are trying to raise as much money as we can for the benefit of Julia, Bellevue and CPL. You are welcome to donate directly to Canine Partners for Life and they are a non-profit organization so you can deduct it on your taxes, we appreciate if you can make the donation in Julia’s name. You can also be assured that money donated to Julia and Bellevue 2022 will go directly into Julia's Savings account to help support the cost of caring for Julia's service dog.  We are currently pressured by the cost of caregiving, medical expenses, time lost at work and the cost of altering our home to accommodate Julia and Bellevue so any support is much appreciated.  The amazing new space will be done just in time for them to come home on June 26th!  

TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO CPL CLICK BELOW
CPL Donation Page Link 

Thank You:

We are grateful to the special people who encouraged us to go for the application process, wrote reference letters and offered support from the beginning: Dr. Akman’s team, Sue/Kristen/Kerri (Tutor/OT), Lourdes (Neighbor) and Anna/Tara/Raina (caregivers). The Epilepsy foundation of Connecticut for offering a community of support and an outstanding summer sleep-away camp called Camp Courage  where Julia will be able to bring Bellevue this July. To the Croton Harmon school district for embracing disabilities and welcoming Bellevue to join Julia in school next year and to a good dog rescue  for allowing us to foster Trinity for a while earlier this year – it really helped us prepare for this moment.

Conclusion:

Julia has been a champion for Epilepsy and for service dogs. We hope that her story will inspire people to donate and volunteer for Canine Partners for Life.

We want to spread awareness as well. It is difficult to understand the challenge that epilepsy  can bring unless you have been through it so it definitely helps when more people are aware.

Thank you for considering a donation.