Help Ollie get a service dog

As many of you know, I’m Susanne’s older sister and in an effort to ease some of her and husbands burden, I have started this fundraiser.

For those of you that don’t know, my sister’s 4 year old son has recently been diagnosed with epilepsy.

In a matter of 4 short weeks, he has experienced 2 seizures that both took place after he was tucked in and sleeping for the night. Luckily, my sister was in the room both nights helping Ollie’s older brother get to sleep and could hear the change in Ollie’s breathing that indicated something wasn’t right.

The seizures lasted more than 10 minutes, which in the seizure world is very long, but in a parents world, feels like a lifetime.

As you can imagine, their world has been turned upside down and as night time approaches, their angst intensifies as they try to care for their 2 other children, (Henry who is autistic and Charlie who is 6 months old) while always monitoring Ollie.

They have invested in camera monitors, bracelet monitors, and currently Ollie has one parent sleeping with him every night. And even so, the fear is still there.

As an added piece of security and to give them peace of mind, I am hoping to raise money in order to pay for a service dog that can alert them if Ollie has a seizure. They are working closely with a local training organization and have already applied and qualified to be part of the program, but a dog with such training cost upward of 15-20k dollars.

Their hope is to return to a little more normalcy knowing that Ollie has a furry little side kick by his side.

Susanne and Matt are two of the most dedicated parents I know and have faced more adversity than any parents should. And yet, they keep on fighting, keep on pushing forward, and keep on persevering.

I want to thank everyone who has reached out, sent thoughtful messages, positive vibes and prayers to this family. Please know that it has provided so much comfort in knowing that they aren’t alone .

Lets please help this family know that they have an army behind them, and show Ollie that he is an incredibly loved little boy.