Joanna's Diabetic Alert Dog
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I am starting this page for my amazing Sister in Law Joanna who is the perfect example of what a strong selfless person looks like. She is so humble infact that I am doing this gofund me page against her wishes as she is only wanting prayer during this time of need. She has a VERY suportive husband who is devastated during this time and taking on the load of being the only provider, caring for 6 beautiful children, and now trying to find a way to get the woman he loves a DAD (diabetic alert dog).
Please Join me and help this amazing family by helping with the funding for a DAD for someone who is only asking for prayer. This would be such a relief to Joanna's family because when her blood sugar drops to a dangerous low, she will have a dog to alert her family before another disaster strikes again.
This is her story:
"For the first time in nearly 20 years, I experienced my first diabetic seizure early Monday morning.
Lowell said he heard me shriek. He shot up and tried to get me to respond, but my body shook uncontrollably and did so for about 4 minutes. During that time, I also chewed up the inside of my mouth and was choking and gurgling on my blood. (He thinks I shrieked because I was chewing up my mouth.)
Lowell thought I was dying.
He called 9-1-1 and the paramedics came pretty quick, and he called our friends, the Gomez’s, to come be with our kids while I was taken to the hospital.
I have no recollection of any of this. I have a vague memory of the paramedics being in my room and I have a slight memory of being wheeled into the wet night to be put in the ambulence for transport.
I was very well taken care of by the paramedics and by the ER staff. They did lots of blood work and a CT scan and everything came back clear. They discharged me with a neurologist referral and said they (the neurology dept) may want to do an MRI to get a closer look at my head to double check all is well.
It’s been a day and a half now. My body hurts in a bad way from my shoulders to my knees. Both my arms dislocated while I seized so I am not getting much accomplished, and the over all tension my body experienced is hanging with me. I can’t eat much because my cheeks, lips, and tongue are chewed up in a bad way. You can see teeth marks/gashes along both sides of my tongue!
While we were in the ER, I checked to verify the last time I bolused my pump as I had gone to bed at 1030 and this began, as far as Lowell knows, around 3. When I got to the history, it showed I had given myself 6 units of insulin around midnight! I must’ve already been low, woke up and needed to eat, but gave myself insulin to “fix” my problem instead of going to the kitchen for food.
I made a bad problem worse, and have no memories of it whatsoever. The ER doctor explained that one seizure in one’s lifetime isn’t uncommon or really a terrible thing. He said it’s the body’s way of resetting itself in a stressed situation.
Lowell has been such a great support during this time! I feel so bad though because I think he has PTSD from this ordeal. He didn’t sleep well last night and everytime he did drift off he would have fits of nightmares I would wake him up from.
We gathered the kids on our bed to pray the rosary last night and elaborated a little more as to what happened, minus the gore, and put a prayer task in action. The younger ones seemed to handle it okay, but the older kids cried, and rightfully so!, as they are frightened the worst may happen to me…
We want to get Diabetic Assistance Dog (DAD). It’s something Lowell has wanted for a while, but now it is something that is a must. A DAD can smell a high and low blood sugar and will alert the diabetic and/or a loved one to the problem to be addressed.
The only catch is that it costs thousands of dollars. So if you would please join us in prayer that we find a program that can work with us financially and allow us to get a DAD in the relative near future, we would appreciate it!
We are seeking the continued intercession of St Josemarie Escriva for help with my diabetes, and have started prayers to St Francis of Assisi for assistance in getting a dog.
I will keep you posted on how the trip to the neurologist goes. I plan to call and make that appointment tomorrow, so hopefully it will be scheduled not too far down the road. "
-Joanna Schaper
https://thelowellschapers.wordpress.com/
Please Join me and help this amazing family by helping with the funding for a DAD for someone who is only asking for prayer. This would be such a relief to Joanna's family because when her blood sugar drops to a dangerous low, she will have a dog to alert her family before another disaster strikes again.
This is her story:
"For the first time in nearly 20 years, I experienced my first diabetic seizure early Monday morning.
Lowell said he heard me shriek. He shot up and tried to get me to respond, but my body shook uncontrollably and did so for about 4 minutes. During that time, I also chewed up the inside of my mouth and was choking and gurgling on my blood. (He thinks I shrieked because I was chewing up my mouth.)
Lowell thought I was dying.
He called 9-1-1 and the paramedics came pretty quick, and he called our friends, the Gomez’s, to come be with our kids while I was taken to the hospital.
I have no recollection of any of this. I have a vague memory of the paramedics being in my room and I have a slight memory of being wheeled into the wet night to be put in the ambulence for transport.
I was very well taken care of by the paramedics and by the ER staff. They did lots of blood work and a CT scan and everything came back clear. They discharged me with a neurologist referral and said they (the neurology dept) may want to do an MRI to get a closer look at my head to double check all is well.
It’s been a day and a half now. My body hurts in a bad way from my shoulders to my knees. Both my arms dislocated while I seized so I am not getting much accomplished, and the over all tension my body experienced is hanging with me. I can’t eat much because my cheeks, lips, and tongue are chewed up in a bad way. You can see teeth marks/gashes along both sides of my tongue!
While we were in the ER, I checked to verify the last time I bolused my pump as I had gone to bed at 1030 and this began, as far as Lowell knows, around 3. When I got to the history, it showed I had given myself 6 units of insulin around midnight! I must’ve already been low, woke up and needed to eat, but gave myself insulin to “fix” my problem instead of going to the kitchen for food.
I made a bad problem worse, and have no memories of it whatsoever. The ER doctor explained that one seizure in one’s lifetime isn’t uncommon or really a terrible thing. He said it’s the body’s way of resetting itself in a stressed situation.
Lowell has been such a great support during this time! I feel so bad though because I think he has PTSD from this ordeal. He didn’t sleep well last night and everytime he did drift off he would have fits of nightmares I would wake him up from.
We gathered the kids on our bed to pray the rosary last night and elaborated a little more as to what happened, minus the gore, and put a prayer task in action. The younger ones seemed to handle it okay, but the older kids cried, and rightfully so!, as they are frightened the worst may happen to me…
We want to get Diabetic Assistance Dog (DAD). It’s something Lowell has wanted for a while, but now it is something that is a must. A DAD can smell a high and low blood sugar and will alert the diabetic and/or a loved one to the problem to be addressed.
The only catch is that it costs thousands of dollars. So if you would please join us in prayer that we find a program that can work with us financially and allow us to get a DAD in the relative near future, we would appreciate it!
We are seeking the continued intercession of St Josemarie Escriva for help with my diabetes, and have started prayers to St Francis of Assisi for assistance in getting a dog.
I will keep you posted on how the trip to the neurologist goes. I plan to call and make that appointment tomorrow, so hopefully it will be scheduled not too far down the road. "
-Joanna Schaper
https://thelowellschapers.wordpress.com/
Organizer and beneficiary
Samantha Schroeder
Organizer
Perris, CA
Joanna Schaper
Beneficiary
