Wilder Needs a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD)

Hello,

Our names are Blaze and Tyler and recently our entire world has been turned upside down with our oldest son, Wilder, age 4, after he was Life-flighted to Rainbow Babies Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio for DKA and new onset of Type 1 Diabetes.

The symptoms started on Saturday evening he started puking a bit and had a fever. Symptoms seemed to subside with normal Tylenol and Motrin.

Sunday he seemed totally normal, playing, laughing, eating, everything was perfectly okay.

Monday we sent him to school but he was sent home early with a low-grade fever and was very lethargic. He came home and slept the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening. His breathing seemed off so I put him in bed with me to keep a closer eye on him throughout the night. Later in the evening, he started vomiting profusely and his breathing was even more concerning. He fell asleep after another bath and his breathing seemed to be stable. More vomiting throughout the night.

Tuesday his breathing had become even more troubled than before. We called the family doctor to get a same-day appt and while we were waiting to hear back from them we decided to take wilder to the emergency room. He was beginning to look extremely grey and was so lethargic he could barely lift his own head. Within 20 minutes of us being there, they decided we were going to be life flighted to Rainbow Babies children’s hospital. After three painful attempts, they finally were able to place an IV to get him the fluids his body so desperately needed. Unfortunately, during our trip with life flight, his IV blew. The life-flight medics worked on wilder with everything they had. I truly can’t thank them enough for not only taking care of my son but for also making sure I was okay.

The Doctor said wilder has DKA and onset of Type 1 diabetes and that he was fighting for his life. His blood sugar reached 470 by the time we were life-flighted. During the course of the day, wilder had 14 failed attempts at IVs, the arterial line failed with 7 attempts, and they tried on all 4 limbs. He had become so suddenly dehydrated that they couldn't get into any of his veins. They tried to get just one IV in for 4 long hours. After 6 different nurses and doctors working on him tirelessly, they finally got an IV to stick. He was then put on fluids and insulin along with other medications to help him on his road to recovery and an entirely new life.

Wednesday late morning Wilder was thankfully cleared safely out of DKA and on the up and up by moving off the Insulin drip and into him receiving insulin shots!

Unfortunately, by Wednesday night Wilder had begun to slip back into DKA after being cleared late Wednesday morning as being out of DKA. This is rare, but not totally unheard of. The nurses have described this as uncharted territory for them but they are overwhelmingly determined to save our boy. We are walking amongst angels.

It had been a long day of touch and go for us and feeling out lots of “grey areas”. We were going to transfer him out of the PICU onto the floor with his endocrinologist team but he started to regress fairly quickly that afternoon/evening. His sugar levels then skyrocketed to the upper 700s on Wednesday evening and his breathing had become moderately worse. He was placed back on the insulin drip as it is our safest option at this point. Luckily, he was a little responsive and still as sweet as can be.

After a cancelled flight and 6 delays, Tyler is finally by Wilder’s bedside. Wilder was overjoyed to see his daddy and now he is even more motivated to get better.

As of Thursday morning Wilder has turned back around throughout the night and is back out of DKA!!! The doctor said because Wilder has been such a weird case that they aren’t 100% confident that this won’t happen again but they do feel confident enough to allow him to eat, drink and if all goes well they will move him to his specialized floor with his endocrinologist team. His GAS and Sugars look stabilized enough to allow everyone to take a deep breath even if it’s just for a moment.

It’s going to be a long few days of touch and go but we are hopeful it will be much better than the past two days. We are trusting in God’s plan.

We decided that a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD) is our best option to help keep Wilder safe in the future along with taking every other measure possible. Unfortunately, DADs are not covered under any medical insurance and the cost for a DAD can be up to $38,000 not including costs for the animal's upkeep during the duration of the animal's life.

We are humbly asking for help to ensure our son's safety as we cannot cover this amount on our own at this time. We cannot thank you all enough for the amazing outpour of love and support. We are eternally indebted to all of you. We love you.

#WilderTheWarrior