Help Darcy get a Diabetic Alert Dog

Hi everyone! My name is Darcy Johnson. You might know me because we went to school together, maybe you’re a friend of the family, you may have seen me with my band at a show we’ve played, or maybe you’re simply someone who found me on Instagram or facebook. I’m a student, an aspiring musician, and am also a type one diabetic. I was diagnosed at 15 and unfortunately, had to spend the 2018 Thanksgiving week at a children’s hospital. I have been insulin-dependent since that time. I live every day with an insulin pump on my body, and I will for the rest of my life. There is no known cure for type one diabetes.

While this all sounds very debilitating, I like to think that I’ve bounced back fairly well.

Since my diagnosis, I’ve played shows to hundreds of people, made my university’s dean’s list every semester, and am interning as an audio engineer at Christ Church in Fairview Heights, IL.

I’m now a college student, studying away from home and have developed hypoglycemia unawareness, a dangerous side effect of type one. This is a condition where I am unable to determine when my blood sugar drops to hazardous levels. Hypoglycemia unawareness can result in unconsciousness, seizures, coma, or death.

A diabetic alert dog is task-trained to detect and alert its handler when a hypoglycemic episode is about to occur. In my case, I would be able to take immediate steps to prevent that extremely low blood sugar incident. A medical service dog could save my life. Unfortunately, a diabetic alert dog is not covered by medical insurance and their cost can run close to $20,000.

I’m currently working with Diabetic Alert Dogs of America, a highly-regarded training facility in Nevada, who will train a dog specific to my medical needs and lifestyle.

I will be posting updates on gofundme sharing the milestones of my journey to be paired with my diabetic alert dog.

Any financial assistance would be appreciated and get me closer to my goal of living a life free of the worry of a hypoglycemic incident.