Smart Pup for Georgia
Donation protected
As a regular foster for Smart Pups Assistance Dogs needs I rarely get the chance to meet the families who have actually applied for a dog, but recently I was fortunate to meet Paula while she was volunteering at the new Smart Pups Charity Shop. Her story touched me deeply so I wanted to support her in her efforts to secure funding for a Smart Pup for her daughter Georgia.
When Georgia was born on December 14th 2011 she was not breathing, had no muscle tone, and was basically given 2 hours to live. After an emergency helicopter ride to Brisbane, little Georgia was placed on an ECMO machine – basically the same machine used during heart bypass surgery. There can be no doubt this action kept Georgia alive, but it required serious intervention on such a tiny body, and heavy drug dosages to keep Georgia paralysed throughout treatment. Georgia battled for 10 days showing no movement at all except in her eyes, until she had stabilised sufficiently to come off the machine.
But the worry was far from over for Paula – After two long months in hospital Georgia was finally allowed home but she needed full time oxygen and was fed via a nasal gastric (NG) tube. Georgia had profound hypotonia – more commonly known as “floppy baby syndrome” due to a severe lack of muscle tone – and doctors suggested she would most likely spend her limited life as a “beanbag baby”. Added to this Georgia also suffered from severe reflux aspiration which meant she would throw up 20 times a day or more, with a high risk that she would aspirate on the vomit as her lack of muscle tone stopped any chance of her body coping with this on its own. Doctors recommended that Georgia was isolated from the public for the first 12 months of her life to ensure she didn’t catch any bug at all as it would almost certainly be life threatening, so Paula basically lived in a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and never left her wee baby’s side for a whole year.
Through Paula’s tireless efforts and her 24 hour a day dedication to her daughter Georgia’s condition slowly stabilized. The things most parents take for granted were major milestones for Georgia – For example it was at least 6 months before she could overcome gravity and raise her leg in the air. Turning her head, making her first sound, and eventually even managing a few steps – these were truly momentous moments, and a testimony to the fact that Paula simply never gave up.
Earlier this year, after genetic analysis, specialists finally came up with a diagnosis for Georgia – Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome, so rare it affects as few as 1 in 500,000 people. It is basically a chronic muscle weakness throughout the body that is actually made worse by exertion. So ironically the more Georgia attempts to do physically, the more she puts herself at risk. Even a giggling fit can bring on severe reflux and aspiration but with no muscle tone in her diaphragm she can’t cough or clear the resulting blockage. When this happens Paula has to quickly place her daughter on the floor on her side, and pat her back – sometimes for hours on end. But as Georgia’s condition is so rare there is zero government funding.
Whilst Georgia has battled against all the odds to improve to the point where she can go to school on a part time basis, she will require constant care for the foreseeable future. For example her temperature can rise quickly and significantly due to over excitement, over exhaustion, illness or purely due to the weather. She can also spontaneously stop breathing and turn blue. This is not because her lungs don’t work so oxygen doesn’t actually assist her, but her muscles that aid in breathing – her diaphragm and intercostal muscles just stop working. Again this can occur from overexcitement, exhaustion or a temperature from a fever. If she falls she goes down “like a tree” as she has no muscle tone to break her fall. And due to the concave nature of Georgia’s sternum, when Georgia’s heart beats too strongly it literally bounces against her sternum which can be both painfully debilitating and quite frightening for this plucky little girl so it’s hardly surprisingly that she can be prone to extreme anxiety outside the home.
Paula believes that the calming nature of a therapy dog will have countless benefits for her daughter, and may even be trained to recognize the onset of Georgia’s life threatening symptoms that can arise almost without warning at any time. Smart Pups can also provide tailored mobility assistance which would be invaluable for Georgia to gain some independence, in helping her to get up and down off the ground, help her to dress herself and to pick things up for her. But to receive a Smart Pup, Paula needs to fundraise $25,000, as this worthy organization also receives no government funding. Even during the few hours that Georgia is well enough to go to school, Paula uses this spare time not for herself but to volunteer at the Smart Pups Charity shop.
Having fostered for Smart Pups several years now I have seen firsthand the amazing ways these beautiful dogs can bring joy to the lives of families with children with special needs, and I would so love this to be the case for Paula and her precious daughter – It’s hard to imagine more worthy recipients.
When Georgia was born on December 14th 2011 she was not breathing, had no muscle tone, and was basically given 2 hours to live. After an emergency helicopter ride to Brisbane, little Georgia was placed on an ECMO machine – basically the same machine used during heart bypass surgery. There can be no doubt this action kept Georgia alive, but it required serious intervention on such a tiny body, and heavy drug dosages to keep Georgia paralysed throughout treatment. Georgia battled for 10 days showing no movement at all except in her eyes, until she had stabilised sufficiently to come off the machine.
But the worry was far from over for Paula – After two long months in hospital Georgia was finally allowed home but she needed full time oxygen and was fed via a nasal gastric (NG) tube. Georgia had profound hypotonia – more commonly known as “floppy baby syndrome” due to a severe lack of muscle tone – and doctors suggested she would most likely spend her limited life as a “beanbag baby”. Added to this Georgia also suffered from severe reflux aspiration which meant she would throw up 20 times a day or more, with a high risk that she would aspirate on the vomit as her lack of muscle tone stopped any chance of her body coping with this on its own. Doctors recommended that Georgia was isolated from the public for the first 12 months of her life to ensure she didn’t catch any bug at all as it would almost certainly be life threatening, so Paula basically lived in a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and never left her wee baby’s side for a whole year.
Through Paula’s tireless efforts and her 24 hour a day dedication to her daughter Georgia’s condition slowly stabilized. The things most parents take for granted were major milestones for Georgia – For example it was at least 6 months before she could overcome gravity and raise her leg in the air. Turning her head, making her first sound, and eventually even managing a few steps – these were truly momentous moments, and a testimony to the fact that Paula simply never gave up.
Earlier this year, after genetic analysis, specialists finally came up with a diagnosis for Georgia – Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome, so rare it affects as few as 1 in 500,000 people. It is basically a chronic muscle weakness throughout the body that is actually made worse by exertion. So ironically the more Georgia attempts to do physically, the more she puts herself at risk. Even a giggling fit can bring on severe reflux and aspiration but with no muscle tone in her diaphragm she can’t cough or clear the resulting blockage. When this happens Paula has to quickly place her daughter on the floor on her side, and pat her back – sometimes for hours on end. But as Georgia’s condition is so rare there is zero government funding.
Whilst Georgia has battled against all the odds to improve to the point where she can go to school on a part time basis, she will require constant care for the foreseeable future. For example her temperature can rise quickly and significantly due to over excitement, over exhaustion, illness or purely due to the weather. She can also spontaneously stop breathing and turn blue. This is not because her lungs don’t work so oxygen doesn’t actually assist her, but her muscles that aid in breathing – her diaphragm and intercostal muscles just stop working. Again this can occur from overexcitement, exhaustion or a temperature from a fever. If she falls she goes down “like a tree” as she has no muscle tone to break her fall. And due to the concave nature of Georgia’s sternum, when Georgia’s heart beats too strongly it literally bounces against her sternum which can be both painfully debilitating and quite frightening for this plucky little girl so it’s hardly surprisingly that she can be prone to extreme anxiety outside the home.
Paula believes that the calming nature of a therapy dog will have countless benefits for her daughter, and may even be trained to recognize the onset of Georgia’s life threatening symptoms that can arise almost without warning at any time. Smart Pups can also provide tailored mobility assistance which would be invaluable for Georgia to gain some independence, in helping her to get up and down off the ground, help her to dress herself and to pick things up for her. But to receive a Smart Pup, Paula needs to fundraise $25,000, as this worthy organization also receives no government funding. Even during the few hours that Georgia is well enough to go to school, Paula uses this spare time not for herself but to volunteer at the Smart Pups Charity shop.
Having fostered for Smart Pups several years now I have seen firsthand the amazing ways these beautiful dogs can bring joy to the lives of families with children with special needs, and I would so love this to be the case for Paula and her precious daughter – It’s hard to imagine more worthy recipients.
Organizer
Debbie Gibson
Organizer
Eumundi QLD