Alert Dog for Nathan
Donation protected
I would love to introduce you to my son, Nathan Laws, who is the most loving, giving and kind young man you will ever meet. If you need anything, Nathan will be the first person to try and get you what you need. His heart is big! He would love to take care of others instead of others taking care of him.
He has been through more trials and tribulations than many adults. As a young child, Nathan was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Dysfunction which was diagnosed by traveling to Atlanta and him having a fresh muscle biopsy at a young age. As Nathan got older, he faced many medical hurdles that puzzled doctors. While the doctors in St. Louis learned about Mitochondrial Dysfunction they knew something more was going on which led us to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. This is where it was discovered that Nathan also has Pierpont Syndrome, the 20th person in the world to be diagnosed. Both Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Pierpont affect Nathan's entire body but most importantly it impacts his lung function, to where Nathan requires oxygen throughout the day and night. Most recently it has been discovered that Nathan is having episodes in which he stops breathing at night, which requires his bi-pap machine to have a back up rate, to prompt his body to start breathing again. As a mom, this is very scary.
The purpose of this dog will be to wake Nathan when his medical equipment alarms, when he stops breathing, or to alert myself or my husband, so that we can come to help Nathan. Medical alert dogs have been around for several years and their purpose is to assist individuals who have a medical disability. Many medical response dogs "alert" their handlers to conditions before they even occur.
We are so blessed that Nathan has overcome so many medical obstacles and to be completely transparent, is still alive today, we just can't afford this on our own. So we are asking for assistance in this need.
We have found a great program that will help Nathan learn to train service dogs. This will allow Nathan to not only train this first dog, while getting the education, but any future dogs. The typical service dog works for around 5 years. The dog will be trained to assist Nathan in the community while he uses his power wheelchair, opening doors, retrieving anything that has been dropped, as well as alert while he is sleeping. This training is not cheap because the training is very extensive to ensure the medical alert dog is fully capable of meeting the needs of the individual he/she will be supporting. In this case, the medical alert dog will have Nathan’s life in his/her hands.
While this medical alert dog's purpose is stemming from the needs overnight while Nathan is asleep, Nathan has many other needs throughout the day due to his medical conditions to which he doesn't always recognize when his body is indicating medical intervention is necessary. This medical alert dog will be trained to help Nathan recognize these moments so that Nathan can gain a bit more independence within the community as currently, Nathan is unable to be fully independent due to his significant medical needs.
Nathan requires constant monitoring because of his medical needs. Having a medical alert dog will allow Nathan some independence. All Nathan has ever wanted was to be like other people his age. He is left out of many activities because he can't do what his peers can or he doesn't have someone to go with him since he needs constant supervision due to medical needs. An alert dog would give Nathan the ability to go and be with his peers.
When Nathan is around dogs, he lights up! He flocks to any dog he sees, loves to go to the pet stores and cuddle with all the dogs he can. He feels connected to animals in a way that he can't connect to people because people do not understand what he faces on a daily basis.
Please help us raise the money to bring a dog home to support Nathan at home, in the community, and at the hospital! You can also follow Nathan's Journey on Facebook at "A Support Dog for Nathan". You can watch as Nathan learns more about different breeds, and training techniques, as well as sharing what has brought Nathan to this point on his medical journey.
He has been through more trials and tribulations than many adults. As a young child, Nathan was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Dysfunction which was diagnosed by traveling to Atlanta and him having a fresh muscle biopsy at a young age. As Nathan got older, he faced many medical hurdles that puzzled doctors. While the doctors in St. Louis learned about Mitochondrial Dysfunction they knew something more was going on which led us to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. This is where it was discovered that Nathan also has Pierpont Syndrome, the 20th person in the world to be diagnosed. Both Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Pierpont affect Nathan's entire body but most importantly it impacts his lung function, to where Nathan requires oxygen throughout the day and night. Most recently it has been discovered that Nathan is having episodes in which he stops breathing at night, which requires his bi-pap machine to have a back up rate, to prompt his body to start breathing again. As a mom, this is very scary.
The purpose of this dog will be to wake Nathan when his medical equipment alarms, when he stops breathing, or to alert myself or my husband, so that we can come to help Nathan. Medical alert dogs have been around for several years and their purpose is to assist individuals who have a medical disability. Many medical response dogs "alert" their handlers to conditions before they even occur.
We are so blessed that Nathan has overcome so many medical obstacles and to be completely transparent, is still alive today, we just can't afford this on our own. So we are asking for assistance in this need.
We have found a great program that will help Nathan learn to train service dogs. This will allow Nathan to not only train this first dog, while getting the education, but any future dogs. The typical service dog works for around 5 years. The dog will be trained to assist Nathan in the community while he uses his power wheelchair, opening doors, retrieving anything that has been dropped, as well as alert while he is sleeping. This training is not cheap because the training is very extensive to ensure the medical alert dog is fully capable of meeting the needs of the individual he/she will be supporting. In this case, the medical alert dog will have Nathan’s life in his/her hands.
While this medical alert dog's purpose is stemming from the needs overnight while Nathan is asleep, Nathan has many other needs throughout the day due to his medical conditions to which he doesn't always recognize when his body is indicating medical intervention is necessary. This medical alert dog will be trained to help Nathan recognize these moments so that Nathan can gain a bit more independence within the community as currently, Nathan is unable to be fully independent due to his significant medical needs.
Nathan requires constant monitoring because of his medical needs. Having a medical alert dog will allow Nathan some independence. All Nathan has ever wanted was to be like other people his age. He is left out of many activities because he can't do what his peers can or he doesn't have someone to go with him since he needs constant supervision due to medical needs. An alert dog would give Nathan the ability to go and be with his peers.
When Nathan is around dogs, he lights up! He flocks to any dog he sees, loves to go to the pet stores and cuddle with all the dogs he can. He feels connected to animals in a way that he can't connect to people because people do not understand what he faces on a daily basis.
Please help us raise the money to bring a dog home to support Nathan at home, in the community, and at the hospital! You can also follow Nathan's Journey on Facebook at "A Support Dog for Nathan". You can watch as Nathan learns more about different breeds, and training techniques, as well as sharing what has brought Nathan to this point on his medical journey.
Organizer
Keli Krause Stone
Organizer
O’Fallon, MO