♡ A Diabetic Alert Dog for Kelton ♡
Donation protected
Our story: On December 27, 2014 our family was changed forever by a sudden hospitalization for our youngest son, Kelton (he was only 12). We were told that night, he had Type 1 or (Juvenile ) Diabetes. An auto immune disease that, so far, has no cure, is for life, and has subsequently destroyed his pancreas' ability to make insulin. Because his immune system went on the fritz, he had a battery of tests for all kinds of autoimmune disorders and will be tested annually for them the rest of his life.
With Type 1 diabetes, anything he eats with a carbohydrate requires a dose of insulin because his body cannot make any. If his sugar goes to high, he will become toxic from ketones, which can be fatal if not resolved with medical treatment. If he becomes too low, he can have a seizure and die if not treated quickly.
As parents of a newly diagnosed Type 1 kid, while in the hospital we were overwhelmed with literature, education, diet, carb counting, injections, finger sticks, urine dipping, signs of low, and signs of high. That in itself was so hard to process but...I will NEVER forget the nurse coming in our hospital room, the day after his diagnosis and our midnight ER visit, to tell me she was there to go over his Glucagon training (that's a life saving, low glucose reversal shot like an epi-pen) and to discuss DIB. I was like "Ok, more education and tell me again, what is DIB?" She looked at me said with the straightest most honest face possible...."oh, that is Death.In.Bed, hence DIB." Yup, I had to sit there after that statement and listen to a lesson about how to prevent my child from dying in his sleep. That moment is when it got real, real fast, for the Stephenson family.
For the first 10 months, he gave himself 6-8 injections of insulin per day along with 10-12 finger sticks to check his blood glucose. His glucose swings from high to low were dramatic. I once watched him drop 250 points in an hour and vice versa when rising. Still, almost a year in, I check him sometimes multiple times a night.
He wears in his skin, a Continuous Glucose Monitor now 24/7 and it will alarm me to his lows and highs but that technology requires a perfect wifi, data or Internet signal to work. It isn't perfect and we still battle dramatic swings.
In November, he was placed on an insulin pump in an attempt to regulate his extreme glucose highs and lows he experiences. He has to change his pump site every 2-3 days now, no more daily injections (unless he's sick) but he still has all the finger sticks and now he wears two devices on his body 24/7 in order to be alive and well.
Since diagnosed, he has missed over 50 (I lost count) days of school for doctor's appointments and sickness related to his diabetes. He has been absent for things such as these major swings in his glucose, which cause him to feel like a train ran him over, to chronic sinus infections which even led to nasal surgery this past August. The surgery did not work and now he also experiences migraines.
Despite all of his sicknesses and absences, he has managed to keep A/B honor roll at school, be active in band (he knows how to play 4 instruments) and he has hopes to go to college for something that has to do with computers. He's loves online gaming.
It has not been easy, I admit there was some serious adjustments in the beginning. It's hard to count the carbs of every single food you put in your mouth. It's hard to be the kid that has to leave class to go to the nurse every single day. It's hard to miss all that school and not get discouraged at the mounds of make up work. It's hard to not be allowed to just run outside and play until you check your blood. It's hard but it's a disease that can be managed to a certain degree.
Over the last year, we have been researching all the different ways to try to help Kelton manage his disease. We learned about continuous glucose monitors and went through some hoops and got insurance to approve one. We learned that being on the insulin pump may help him regulate his numbers better. Again, major insurance hoops and we finally got an insulin pump. We even took him to a Iridologist with a Phd in nutrition, that read his irises and tongue and hands and prescribed piles of herb and vitamins to try to strengthen his body. We will do whatever we can as parents to help him, since we know we can't remove this from him and the cure remains elusive.
Over a year into this now, we realize the next best way we can help Kelton is with a Diabetic Alert Dog. There is no insurance help with this and the price of a well trained certified dog is way beyond what we are able to do, without help.
One time, Kelton went to bed with a very high glucose, we gave the appropriate dose of insulin with minimal effect on his number, so I made the decision, based on what they teach us, to go to bed and check him an hour later at 1am. Well, I was so exhausted after two nights of this back to back, that I slept through my phone alarm. At 2 am I heard his continuous glucose monitor alarm go off, I figured he was still high so after a few minutes I got up and went to check on him. He was sound asleep, he would barely wake and as I was poking his finger, I realized he couldn't speak well. He was so low the next level would have been seizure. We got him awake enough to get sugar in him. He recovered over the next 30 minutes and fell back asleep. Me, not so much.
It was right then that I realized Kelton doesn't "feel" his lows when he sleeps (he never has and no one knows if he ever will). So if we aren't around, if the wifi went out, if he forgets to charge his monitor. What then? How will Kelton be alerted to his lows then? I knew at that moment, in the middle of the night, we don't just want a Diabetic Alert Dog, he needs a Diabetic Alert Dog.
This dog will be with him as he sleeps, he could go to a sleepover or a lock in, on late night school trip in high school, as he starts to drive, and hopefully when he's asleep in a college dorm room or his first apartment. These dogs are trained to relentlessly annoy their person until they wake up. They are even trained to rush and get testing and glucose supplies and if needed, and go get someone or alert for help! The freedom a D.A.D. would give him and the peace of mind it would give us, as Kelton grows up and ventures out, is immeasurable.
Please help us fund a diabetic alert dog for our son Kelton. Anything you can do is so appreciated and it is a blessing. Thank you all for your support and prayers and good thoughts.
The Stephensons
With Type 1 diabetes, anything he eats with a carbohydrate requires a dose of insulin because his body cannot make any. If his sugar goes to high, he will become toxic from ketones, which can be fatal if not resolved with medical treatment. If he becomes too low, he can have a seizure and die if not treated quickly.
As parents of a newly diagnosed Type 1 kid, while in the hospital we were overwhelmed with literature, education, diet, carb counting, injections, finger sticks, urine dipping, signs of low, and signs of high. That in itself was so hard to process but...I will NEVER forget the nurse coming in our hospital room, the day after his diagnosis and our midnight ER visit, to tell me she was there to go over his Glucagon training (that's a life saving, low glucose reversal shot like an epi-pen) and to discuss DIB. I was like "Ok, more education and tell me again, what is DIB?" She looked at me said with the straightest most honest face possible...."oh, that is Death.In.Bed, hence DIB." Yup, I had to sit there after that statement and listen to a lesson about how to prevent my child from dying in his sleep. That moment is when it got real, real fast, for the Stephenson family.
For the first 10 months, he gave himself 6-8 injections of insulin per day along with 10-12 finger sticks to check his blood glucose. His glucose swings from high to low were dramatic. I once watched him drop 250 points in an hour and vice versa when rising. Still, almost a year in, I check him sometimes multiple times a night.
He wears in his skin, a Continuous Glucose Monitor now 24/7 and it will alarm me to his lows and highs but that technology requires a perfect wifi, data or Internet signal to work. It isn't perfect and we still battle dramatic swings.
In November, he was placed on an insulin pump in an attempt to regulate his extreme glucose highs and lows he experiences. He has to change his pump site every 2-3 days now, no more daily injections (unless he's sick) but he still has all the finger sticks and now he wears two devices on his body 24/7 in order to be alive and well.
Since diagnosed, he has missed over 50 (I lost count) days of school for doctor's appointments and sickness related to his diabetes. He has been absent for things such as these major swings in his glucose, which cause him to feel like a train ran him over, to chronic sinus infections which even led to nasal surgery this past August. The surgery did not work and now he also experiences migraines.
Despite all of his sicknesses and absences, he has managed to keep A/B honor roll at school, be active in band (he knows how to play 4 instruments) and he has hopes to go to college for something that has to do with computers. He's loves online gaming.
It has not been easy, I admit there was some serious adjustments in the beginning. It's hard to count the carbs of every single food you put in your mouth. It's hard to be the kid that has to leave class to go to the nurse every single day. It's hard to miss all that school and not get discouraged at the mounds of make up work. It's hard to not be allowed to just run outside and play until you check your blood. It's hard but it's a disease that can be managed to a certain degree.
Over the last year, we have been researching all the different ways to try to help Kelton manage his disease. We learned about continuous glucose monitors and went through some hoops and got insurance to approve one. We learned that being on the insulin pump may help him regulate his numbers better. Again, major insurance hoops and we finally got an insulin pump. We even took him to a Iridologist with a Phd in nutrition, that read his irises and tongue and hands and prescribed piles of herb and vitamins to try to strengthen his body. We will do whatever we can as parents to help him, since we know we can't remove this from him and the cure remains elusive.
Over a year into this now, we realize the next best way we can help Kelton is with a Diabetic Alert Dog. There is no insurance help with this and the price of a well trained certified dog is way beyond what we are able to do, without help.
One time, Kelton went to bed with a very high glucose, we gave the appropriate dose of insulin with minimal effect on his number, so I made the decision, based on what they teach us, to go to bed and check him an hour later at 1am. Well, I was so exhausted after two nights of this back to back, that I slept through my phone alarm. At 2 am I heard his continuous glucose monitor alarm go off, I figured he was still high so after a few minutes I got up and went to check on him. He was sound asleep, he would barely wake and as I was poking his finger, I realized he couldn't speak well. He was so low the next level would have been seizure. We got him awake enough to get sugar in him. He recovered over the next 30 minutes and fell back asleep. Me, not so much.
It was right then that I realized Kelton doesn't "feel" his lows when he sleeps (he never has and no one knows if he ever will). So if we aren't around, if the wifi went out, if he forgets to charge his monitor. What then? How will Kelton be alerted to his lows then? I knew at that moment, in the middle of the night, we don't just want a Diabetic Alert Dog, he needs a Diabetic Alert Dog.
This dog will be with him as he sleeps, he could go to a sleepover or a lock in, on late night school trip in high school, as he starts to drive, and hopefully when he's asleep in a college dorm room or his first apartment. These dogs are trained to relentlessly annoy their person until they wake up. They are even trained to rush and get testing and glucose supplies and if needed, and go get someone or alert for help! The freedom a D.A.D. would give him and the peace of mind it would give us, as Kelton grows up and ventures out, is immeasurable.
Please help us fund a diabetic alert dog for our son Kelton. Anything you can do is so appreciated and it is a blessing. Thank you all for your support and prayers and good thoughts.
The Stephensons
Organizer
Michelle Hall Stephenson
Organizer
Milton, FL
