Nathanial's Diabetic Alert Dog

In case you haven`t met him before, I would like you to meet Nathanial. This funny and energetic, 3 year old, will climb anything in front of him. He lives with his Rhea, his Mom, Aaron, his Dad and Eliza, his super fantastic big sister in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador!

Nat's big brown eyes and infectious grin make you instantly fall in love with him- He has a big personality and a lot of life, all squished inside his little tiny body.

Sadly, something  in his tiny body is causing him quite a bit of trouble. In August, Rhea and Aaron noticed that things weren't quite right, and they made a trip to the hospital where Nat was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. 

This involved a lengthy stay where everyone learned just how much their lives were about to change.

There isn't anything anyone could have done to prevent Nat's diabetes - his pancreas  just doesn't do what it's supposed to and that come with some pretty serious complications. 

It was a LOT of information to take in, but it basically boils down to the fact that diabetes is a terrifying disease and the damage it can do to the body holds no bounds. It's not nearly as simple as "He can't eat sugar" which is what it seems to be on the surface. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and kills the beta cells of the pancreas.  When this happens, No, or very little, insulin is released naturally into the body. This means that sugar builds up in the blood instead of being used as energy. This leads to high blood sugar.

Having high blood sugar can cause diabetes-related complications, like chronic kidney disease,  lower limb  amputation, eye disease (which can lead to blindness), heart attack, stroke,  and nerve damage. 

As if that isn't scary and complicated enough to manage, having low blood sugar brings with it a different set of very serious complications.

Keeping  blood sugar in check at all times during the day is a struggle for anyone affected by diabetes. Keeping it regulated through the day with a very high energy 3 year old who is not yet old enough to communicate when he isn't feeling right is even worse.

With constant  finger pricks, 4 insulin needles a day, and extremely structured meals to keep things on track, little Nat has a lot going on.  His days are challenging, but his nights present another set of extremely serious issues. 

Depsite having two very vigilant parents, while he sleeps Nat's blood sugar often drops critically low and this requires immediate intervention. To keep on top of these drops and spikes, he wears a blood sugar monitor under his skin. Initially, this sounded like it would be the ideal thing to give everyone piece of mind  and keep him safe while he slept. There was no hesitation about it being the right thing to do. The monitor cost $2000 to purchase and is $340/month to maintain.  Insurance will not cover any of these costs. It is a steep price tag, but well worth every penny  to keep him safe.

However, as good as it is, the monitor is very irritating to Nat's skin and you must be extremely careful not to bump it. Each time it is bumped (as is apt to happen with an energetic three year old!) it must have the sensor replaced. Withing the last month the sensor has been damaged through very normal play and has needed replacing 5 times - with a price tag of $100 per sensor. It`s a great device, but at his age and energy level, it`s not the ultimate solution like we had initially hoped it would be.

After an immense amount of research into what other options could possibly work to keep him monitored and happy, we have discovered another plan that could work to keep Nat safe!

A Diabetic Alert Dog! (http://www.diabeticalertdogsofamerica.com/)

These incredibly special service animals  are trained to alert their diabetic owners in advance of low (hypoglycemia) or high (hyperglycemia) blood sugar events before they become dangerous.

This dog would become Nat's constant companion and would provide emotional security and a sense of balance for him and his family.

One of these amazing dogs would be trained to smell when Nat's blood chemistry changes due to either a blood sugar high or low. This means that as he sleeps, his new best buddy and his highly trained nose would ensure that he maintains a safe range.

Imagine how much easier Rhea and Aaron will rest knowing they have this extra security measure in place to keep Nat safe. 

Amazed? I was too! 

Skeptical? I would have been too if I hadn't met a family a few years back whose life has been dramatically altered by recieving their diabetic alert dog to help with their little girl. 

Now, here is where things get complicated. It's not nearly as simple as picking up a dog at the SPCA or even ordering one from a breeder. Nat's new dog will be extremely expensive because it must go through intensive training to know exactly how to keep him safe. 

The cost of getting his new dog into his life will be $20,000 dollars. 

Yikes, right?

This is a huge sum of money for most people to come up with all at one time.  This is no exception. With all of the other extremely costly equipment that Nat requires and insurance not covering a great deal of it, things are tight. Because of his condition, and the special training it requires, right now Nat is not able to go to daycare, which means that his two working parent household has had to make some drastic changes so that Rhea stop working for the time being so she can stay home to care for him. 

This is where we need your help! 

Getting  this dog will mean more freedom and independance for a growing 3 year old boy and it will give peace of mind to his parents. Keeping him safe from his own body is priorty number one these days and having this dog will help to do just that. In the 20 years since I have known his Mom, I have met no one more sincere than Rhea and my heart breaks for her and her family knowing  that they are under such an enormous amount of stress right now as they work to find their new normal.

The sooner the funds are raised for their amazing dog, the sooner the training can begin and it can be placed in their home. Any donation would help to get their dog closer to Nat`s bedside so he and his whole family can rest a lot easier knowing that if something isn`t right they will know about it. 

Thank you in advance for any amount of help you can offer.