Service dog for for ms. Charley

Charley is my five year old granddaughter. She has a rare genetic condition called undifferentiated autoinflammatory disease and Reynauds. She started symptoms at 8 months old. For over a year the doctors dismissed it for viruses. She would have high fevers for 5 days, joint pain, stomach pain, rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea. Finally at age 2, a new doctor ran lab work and saw that she wasn’t just suffering from viruses. Her whole body was inflamed inside. Her inflammation markers were extremely concerning. Within 4 days, she was seen by a rheumatologist and she started her diagnostic journey with many labs and different specialists. Charley was accepted into a study at the NIH,in Bethesda, Maryland, and she flew out there and was officially diagnosed with USAID. She will be in this study for life or as long as she chooses. Charley has been on biologic medications which are injections for the past 3 years. She is on her third biologic medicine now which is an immunosuppressant. She takes injections of this weekly in her legs. Unfortunately, because of this she often wears a mask and seems to catch a lot of bugs which usually result in her body flaring as well. Charley has arthritic pain and GI symptoms out of flares and has been poked and prodded to find answers that all lead back to her disease. Most recently, Charley had a colonoscopy and endoscopy with a bravo placement.
Since starting kindergarten this year, Charley is starting to notice and realise she has different struggles than the other kids. She misses a lot of school and can't always keep up with them on the playground. On too warm days or too cool days, Charley sits in the office because her body can't handle the weather conditions.
As a family, we decided it would be beneficial to apply for a scent and mobility dog for Charley. With her doctors recommendation she was recently approved for a service dog. Sadly, her insurance will not cover the expense.  Every service dog is trained specifically for the recipient and their needs. Charley’s dog will be trained to detect a flare through scent before she is even aware. It will also be trained to help her with mobility issues she has.
Charley’s chronic illness will be a lifelong battle. It will have its ups and downs, good days and bad. Our family feels strongly that a service dog could drastically improve her life for the better and give her a best friend companion to be there through it all. Charley has a big heart for animals. She loves going to the zoo and feeding the giraffes. Charley loves going to our family friends house and feeding their ponies and neighbors zebra. She takes food to the goats at her daddy’s work. Every dog we see she has to stop and ask if she can pet it. Charley is excited for this opportunity and can't wait to be placed with her best friend.
Charley’s family; Dad, Mom, sisters, extended family, and friends will be doing fundraisers and raffles to help make this possible. Thank you for any support and god bless.