Epilepsy Service Dog For Charlie

It has come to a point in our journey I have realized I can not do this alone. I’m looking for help to raise enough money for my four year old son Charlie who’s in need of an epilepsy service dog. I am a single mother taking this all on my own for the past three years now. I have not slept comfortably for the past couple of years because im fearful my son will have a seizure that could potentially take his life. It is easier for me to co-sleep in order to keep an open eye. This has started to take a toll on my own health and it’s been a huge nightmare, I live my life in fear.. I don’t know what I would do if I woke up and didn’t have him there, he’s truly is my whole world. I don’t usually tell people about our life story because I don’t want us to be treated any differently. I’ve always done everything on my own refusing to take handouts from anyone including family and friends, but at this point in our lives I have no choice. We’re hoping this dog will save my sons life and also give us the peace of mind that he will be safe. In order for us to stop living our lives in fear. This is truly my cry out for help..

Our goal is to raise close to $10,000 before the end of July when the pup will be available. This will cover the cost of the dog, fully training the dog within our home over the first two years, and cover vet costs for the first year.

I’ll provide you a bit of background of my sons medical history. 

At birth he suffered from HIE, which is lack of oxygen to the brain. Resulting in brain seizures and dying twice. This caused him brain damage from the time of birth. He was immediately transported from the RVH by Sickkkids to Mount Sinai. He was hooked up to plenty of monitors and machines to keep him alive for the first two weeks of life. Charlie has been seen at sickkids, Mount Sinai, RVH, and by many other medical professionals. We have a medical team of around 20 individuals who are dedicated and compassionate.

In December 2021 Charlie suffered from a major grand mal seizure that lasted one hour, causing him more brain damage. He is now completely changed from the child to which he used to be. He lost all verbal communication and started to have extreme behavioural issues. These behavioural and verbal concerns turned into my son being diagnosed with level 3 autistic disorder, which is the highest on the spectrum.

In June 2022 he had another major grand mal seizure lasting over an hour. The doctors have now diagnosed him with extreme epilepsy and have explained how severe his condition is. We will be struggling with this for the rest of our lives. 

These grand mal seizures are so severe that I have medical letters stating it’s a 50% chance that if it were to occur again it can lead to either more brain damage or death.

He’s currently on two seizure medication’s. If he were to have another seizure, he now has a third medication to help calm them. Charlie has also been trialed on 4 different autistic medications. We have currently found one that is helping him with the behavioural issues of him hurting himself.

Charlie has around 10 to 20 focal seizures daily where he zones out, throws his arms around, twitches, and looks up to the right. These ones are non-life-threatening, but can lead to a greater seizure if not controlled. 

Charlie was also diagnosed with level one cerebral palsy around the age of 1.5 years old and wears AFO’s (ankle braces) to help him walk. Charlie has needed 100% supervision and help since. He has myself at home and his EA at school to help him with his daily activities. 

We have found our service trainer Christine from Medical Sniffer Dogs [phone redacted] located in Angus, and our breeder Dana at down to earth goldens [phone redacted] located in Angus.

Christine, our service trainer has worked with Dana the breeder for many years with high success rates with their service dogs. Christine has brought hope to our family! We would be truly blessed to be able to work with her and Dana to bring my son a safer and brighter future.

If you have any questions and would like to reach out I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. We would love to have you be part of our journey and experience it along the way with us.

Thank you in advance,

Megan and Charlie Stronghill.

Costs: 

(Down To Earth Goldens)Puppy $3729.00

(Medical Sniffer Dogs)Service Training over a two year period $4000.00-$5000.00 

(Ferris Lane Animal Hospital) puppy needs/recommendations for first year quoted $1314.73-$2230.10