Kim Higdon's Diabetic Alert Dog
Donativo protegido
Hi, Everyone,
This campaign is for my sister Kim, who is a music teacher at St. Barnabas Catholic School in Indianapolis (and also an amazing sister!).
Two years ago, a fluke--and nearly fatal--malfunction of her pancreas landed Kim in the intensive care unit of Indiana University Hospital for weeks. The fabulous medical staff there saved her life. In one of the three surgeries Kim underwent, they had to remove most of her pancreas, leaving Kim with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.
As some of you may know, diabetes is perhaps the most difficult chronic disease to manage on a day-to-day basis. Kim has to check her blood sugar multiple times a day, figure out the appropriate insulin doses, and inject herself to keep her blood sugar levels within the normal range. The long-term complications that can result from type 1 diabetes are serious, but the short term danger of low blood sugar levels is always present. Low blood sugar can lead to dizziness, disorientation, unconsciousness, coma, and even death.
It can be very hard for someone with diabetes to detect when their blood sugar is too low. But about 15 years ago, someone figured out that dogs (whose sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than ours) could be trained to detect hypoglycemia.
This campaign is to raise $5000 for Kim to buy and train a diabetic alert dog that will be able to detect low blood sugar levels and warn Kim before they've gone low enough to cause serious harm. (Buying a fully trained diabetic alert dog would cost upwards of $10,000 but Kim is hoping to buy a puppy and take it to the training classes herself.)
The puppy, a labradoodle, will cost $2750. The four training classes (three months each, held over the course of two years), plus individual consultation with the trainer will cost another $2250.
These sums are beyond a parochial school teacher's salary, but they're not beyond a whole bunch of caring friends and family, if we all work together!
Those of you who know Kim know what an incredibly loving and generous person she is. She gives so much to everyone around her. It would be great to help her take this important step toward insuring her long term health.
This campaign is for my sister Kim, who is a music teacher at St. Barnabas Catholic School in Indianapolis (and also an amazing sister!).
Two years ago, a fluke--and nearly fatal--malfunction of her pancreas landed Kim in the intensive care unit of Indiana University Hospital for weeks. The fabulous medical staff there saved her life. In one of the three surgeries Kim underwent, they had to remove most of her pancreas, leaving Kim with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.
As some of you may know, diabetes is perhaps the most difficult chronic disease to manage on a day-to-day basis. Kim has to check her blood sugar multiple times a day, figure out the appropriate insulin doses, and inject herself to keep her blood sugar levels within the normal range. The long-term complications that can result from type 1 diabetes are serious, but the short term danger of low blood sugar levels is always present. Low blood sugar can lead to dizziness, disorientation, unconsciousness, coma, and even death.
It can be very hard for someone with diabetes to detect when their blood sugar is too low. But about 15 years ago, someone figured out that dogs (whose sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than ours) could be trained to detect hypoglycemia.
This campaign is to raise $5000 for Kim to buy and train a diabetic alert dog that will be able to detect low blood sugar levels and warn Kim before they've gone low enough to cause serious harm. (Buying a fully trained diabetic alert dog would cost upwards of $10,000 but Kim is hoping to buy a puppy and take it to the training classes herself.)
The puppy, a labradoodle, will cost $2750. The four training classes (three months each, held over the course of two years), plus individual consultation with the trainer will cost another $2250.
These sums are beyond a parochial school teacher's salary, but they're not beyond a whole bunch of caring friends and family, if we all work together!
Those of you who know Kim know what an incredibly loving and generous person she is. She gives so much to everyone around her. It would be great to help her take this important step toward insuring her long term health.
Organizador y beneficiario
Tina Blythe
Organizador
Beverly, MA
Kimberly Higdon
Beneficiario