A Diabetic Alert Dog for Ramona

Our 5-year-old, Ramona, has been living with type 1 diabetes for 2 years now. When she was 3, she went into diabetic ketoacidosis and spent three days in the PICU. Ben and I had a crash course in what our daughter’s life would now be like. She would be insulin dependent for the rest of her life. Our little girl would now be facing challenges that most little girls her age don’t even consider. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that requires constant care. There is never down time. We monitor her blood sugar levels day and night. There are dangerous low blood sugars and high sugar spikes. Eating, activity, illness, and eventually hormones are all factors that can cause her to have a change in her blood sugar. Unhealthy glucose levels lead to nerve damage, blindness and kidney disease.

There are huge advances in technology that have helped in her care. However, these technologies are not always accurate and can malfunction. As parents we want to give our children the best tools possible. We have the opportunity to get Ramona an extra layer of protection from these dangerous highs and lows. We have been praying about this since she got diagnosed and we are moving forward with help from our community in getting her a Diabetic Alert Dog. These dogs are amazing and are trained to smell low and high blood sugars even before her meters would detect them. They are trained to come and get us and/or wake us up whenever Ramona's blood sugars are at a dangerous level. Having this tool in her toolbelt will help to keep her healthy and extend her life.

Costs will be immense, and are more than we can handle on our own. But with your support, we can make this dream come true. We need to raise $15,000 to bring this dog home. Any size donation will be greatly appreciated, from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for taking the time to consider helping us and please keep Ramona in your prayers!