Seizure response dog for Shaylynn
Donation protected
Shaylynn's journey with epilepsy started with a sickening thud coming from her room. I was on the phone and ran upstairs to see her stiff as a board on the ground, bluish tint to her lips and completely unresponsive. You would think my career as a Registered Nurse would help but I stood by completely helpless with my mind blank, not knowing what was happening to my beautiful little girl. After going to the ER and having a follow up the next day with her PCP, we thought it was a one-time thing. Well, that weekend happened to be a long weekend with Labor Day and Shaylynn ended up having three more seizures over the course of that weekend. She was diagnosed with epilepsy a few days later and life was never the same since that one thud.
Shaylynn was eight years old and in third grade when she was diagnosed. She has had a rough time with her epilepsy ever since. She has been put on countless medications and alternative therapies, tried the Keto diet and still nothing has worked to manage her seizures better. She is constantly anxious about the possibility of having a seizure at school in front of her peers. Unfortunately, many still don't understand epilepsy and feel like mocking it. I will tell you, seeing someone have a seizure is no laughing matter. It is terrifying and every seizure is never any easier.
The most recent change to Shaylynn's epilepsy has been the addition of a VNS device. It is essentially like a pacemaker and it sends an electrical impulse up to her brain to keep the seizures more manageable. She received it on 10/24/19 and still has had several seizures since it was implanted. What makes this more difficult is her most recent seizures have been unlike the usual ones that I am used to seeing. With her seizures before, she would have a loud gasping noise at the start of the seizure, her body would stiffen and then she would convulse. With these ones, she simply gets very stiff. There is no gasping noise, there is no convulsing. In fact, she was lying right next to me, literally right next to me, and I had no idea she was having a seizure. The only thing that alerted my attention to her was a 'splat' noise. I looked at her only to find vomit everywhere and she was stiff and in the middle of a seizure. She has had more seizures like this and they COMPLETELY terrify me. She could suffocate in the middle of the night, she could not come out of her seizure, she could injure herself and I would not know. The urgency to get a seizure response dog has become our immediate priority.
Shaylynn has wanted a seizure dog for some time now and I kept putting it off, thinking she didn't really need one. We had the amazing opportunity to go to the Epilepsy Expo at Disneyland in November 2019 and I realized how wrong I was. These dogs do so much for their owners- they can ring a bell to alert me to when a seizure is happening, they can push Shaylynn on her side to ensure that vomit will come out of her mouth instead of her choking on it, they can put their head under hers to protect it during the seizure. They can also provide Shaylynn with some confidence to face her future with epilepsy knowing she has got an extra four legs backing her. She wants this dog to become like a new best friend and be with her every step of the way. The extra sense of security will help us both sleep at night again, which is so desperately needed. Shaylynn needs this dog to help continue her fight with epilepsy- and we need your help in order to fund this dog!!
Please help Shaylynn in her epilepsy battle. She has been a fighter and continues to be a fighter. I want to arm her with everything that is available to make sure she will come out of this fight and continue to lead as normal of a life as she can. With her only getting older and needing more independence, she will be able to count on her dog to help her when she has seizures and ensure that she is as safe as possible. We were very encouraged by the work Domesti-PUPS does and I was brought to tears speaking with them during the expo. They helped me realize that we still need help, and they were there to help us. The amazing Chelsea Hutchison Foundation also committed to give us a very generous donation to help with the cost of this life saving dog (they are incredibly wonderful and do so many great things for families with epilepsy- we were able to go to Disneyland for Epilepsy Awareness Day because of their foundation!). Now, we are turning to you- we still need help. We need to raise money for this amazing dog before June 2020 to become a part of Shaylynn's everyday life. Thank you so much for your compassion and kindness- we are forever grateful for all of you!!!
Shaylynn was eight years old and in third grade when she was diagnosed. She has had a rough time with her epilepsy ever since. She has been put on countless medications and alternative therapies, tried the Keto diet and still nothing has worked to manage her seizures better. She is constantly anxious about the possibility of having a seizure at school in front of her peers. Unfortunately, many still don't understand epilepsy and feel like mocking it. I will tell you, seeing someone have a seizure is no laughing matter. It is terrifying and every seizure is never any easier.
The most recent change to Shaylynn's epilepsy has been the addition of a VNS device. It is essentially like a pacemaker and it sends an electrical impulse up to her brain to keep the seizures more manageable. She received it on 10/24/19 and still has had several seizures since it was implanted. What makes this more difficult is her most recent seizures have been unlike the usual ones that I am used to seeing. With her seizures before, she would have a loud gasping noise at the start of the seizure, her body would stiffen and then she would convulse. With these ones, she simply gets very stiff. There is no gasping noise, there is no convulsing. In fact, she was lying right next to me, literally right next to me, and I had no idea she was having a seizure. The only thing that alerted my attention to her was a 'splat' noise. I looked at her only to find vomit everywhere and she was stiff and in the middle of a seizure. She has had more seizures like this and they COMPLETELY terrify me. She could suffocate in the middle of the night, she could not come out of her seizure, she could injure herself and I would not know. The urgency to get a seizure response dog has become our immediate priority.
Shaylynn has wanted a seizure dog for some time now and I kept putting it off, thinking she didn't really need one. We had the amazing opportunity to go to the Epilepsy Expo at Disneyland in November 2019 and I realized how wrong I was. These dogs do so much for their owners- they can ring a bell to alert me to when a seizure is happening, they can push Shaylynn on her side to ensure that vomit will come out of her mouth instead of her choking on it, they can put their head under hers to protect it during the seizure. They can also provide Shaylynn with some confidence to face her future with epilepsy knowing she has got an extra four legs backing her. She wants this dog to become like a new best friend and be with her every step of the way. The extra sense of security will help us both sleep at night again, which is so desperately needed. Shaylynn needs this dog to help continue her fight with epilepsy- and we need your help in order to fund this dog!!
Please help Shaylynn in her epilepsy battle. She has been a fighter and continues to be a fighter. I want to arm her with everything that is available to make sure she will come out of this fight and continue to lead as normal of a life as she can. With her only getting older and needing more independence, she will be able to count on her dog to help her when she has seizures and ensure that she is as safe as possible. We were very encouraged by the work Domesti-PUPS does and I was brought to tears speaking with them during the expo. They helped me realize that we still need help, and they were there to help us. The amazing Chelsea Hutchison Foundation also committed to give us a very generous donation to help with the cost of this life saving dog (they are incredibly wonderful and do so many great things for families with epilepsy- we were able to go to Disneyland for Epilepsy Awareness Day because of their foundation!). Now, we are turning to you- we still need help. We need to raise money for this amazing dog before June 2020 to become a part of Shaylynn's everyday life. Thank you so much for your compassion and kindness- we are forever grateful for all of you!!!
Organizer
Crystal Anderson
Organizer
Aurora, CO