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Friday, April 8, 2011

A Plan to Stop the Seizures

Is a Dog.  A Seizure Dog.  I know.... one of my last posts was about my big dreams and now I'm going to post again on this same topic.  Difference? Time. I have time to work on my big dream. My big - change - your - life - dream. Learn more about that here.

But We do not have time to waste on this dream.

We need these seizures to stop. We NEED them to stop....

 How do seizures affect our family? In every single way. I wish I could explain it without making people feel sorry for us.

We don't sleep... always wondering if the next seizure is around the corner.  Sometimes the seizures last for 45 minutes.  Last week he had 9 in a 36 hour period... with two lasting over 30 minutes. 

Every time Alexander has a seizure I wonder if he will "lose" a skill.  Some people have brain damage as a result of seizures.  Some people talk before seizures and lose that ability after a grand mal seizure. 

Andrew and Addison act out because they miss us. Every time we are in Hershey it is time spent away from them.  I have constant fear they will resent him for the extra time he gets.  Yesterday... when I got home, the kids were outside playing.  I went in to check on Alexander's day and then I went out to play with the kids without Alexander.  Because I needed to.  The twins needed to see 100% of me come to play with them. 

Ray doesn't talk about it... but he is stressed.  I can't stop talking about it because I'm stressed.  I made jingle bells for on his wrist and ankle to alert us about his seizures in the middle of the night!


Alexander's seizures are sometimes so subtle you can barely detect them.  The truth is I'm scared.  I'm petrified.  If you want to read the post that really talks about my deepest fears ... you can link up here. 

What happens if Alexander has a seizure in the middle of the night and no one notices?
What if his seizure lasts for several hours? 
How many of my fears will come true?

Did you know service dogs can be trained to detect seizures?  Read about the Benefits of Seizure Dogs.  This could be Life Changing for us. We need to get Alexander a seizure dog.


There are 2 ways you can obtain a service dog.  You can put yourself on a waiting list for a "free" one (other people raise money to train the dog) and hope to get one in 2-5 years.  OR.... you can raise the money yourself and donate to an organization for service dogs.  Once the donations are in - they begin to train your dog.  We need to raise around $14,000.  For our son. For our family. For Alexander. ... my baby.  Let's say hello to a service dog and goodbye to uncontrollable seizures.

This post sparks the fundraising for Alexander's dog.  I do have big dreams for myself and Scotland School.... but they must take a bit of a back seat for our dreams for our family. 

How can you help? It is a very humbling experience to ask for help... especially when so many people have offered to help this past year.  To reach out your hand and say, "Please help us to help our child."  But.... Please help us. You can donate through PayPal using the button on the right.  These donations will go directly for Alexander's service dog. You can tell your family and friends to visit the blog and help us.  You can help us to spread the word. 




You can also help by commenting below with fundraising ideas that would be "do-able" for a family of 5.  I'm thinking the Andrew and Addison could have a car wash.... what do you think?

posted by Kristen @ 4:37 PM   12 Comments

12 Comments:

At April 8, 2011 at 5:22 PM , Blogger Bekki said...

I think the service dog is a fantastic idea, I only wish I had more to give...

come on EVERYONE who reads this...you know you have a few bucks to send!

I hope and pray to see the thermometer FULL soon!

 
At April 8, 2011 at 5:26 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

My town had a fundraiser for pop warner uniforms..it was cool and fun. Someone got a flock of pink plastic flamingoes. $25.00 and you could send the flock to someone's house. I was in charge of flocking for a few days. It was great. It satisfied my innner criminal....you would sneak into the persoms yard after dark, stick all the flamingoes around the yard and sneak away. Then the person who was "flocked" paid $25.00 to flock someone else, you could also pay an extra 5 bucks to insure you weren't flocked again...and so on around the town. It was a lot of fun to watch the flock travel and people thought it was fun. It worked really well in my town..it is a small town where we all pretty much know everyone. Good luck!

 
At April 8, 2011 at 8:19 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I am sharing this everywhere I can, with everyone I know. I am sure we can make a difference!

 
At April 8, 2011 at 8:53 PM , Blogger JenConnelly said...

This is just a thought but have you tried Make a Wish foundation or any other wish foundations? You also might ask the Shriners to see if they help with anything like that.I do not know if any of these could help you but it would be worth a phone call .

 
At April 8, 2011 at 8:58 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Joe is big on the Beef and Beer idea or how about a bake sale. You make awesome cheesecake!

 
At April 8, 2011 at 10:30 PM , Blogger babiesbrown said...

I've got 4 kids & 2 mortgages so finanically I have little to offer, but PR & communications is what I do for a living. (fellow twin moms sent me to this post) you don't raise that much money w/ 1 or 2 ideas. You need to get the word out big & plan as many events as you can commit to - maybe 1 a month? First, call your local paper & ask them to do a story. I was a journalist before I started PR & I did a column for a friend when her husband had medical problems. We raised $3,500 in a month with that story & the info on the banks where they could contribute. Set up a savings account at a bank with lots of branches so people can donate by stopping by any of those banks. Next, check with local service orgs & ask them to consider fundraisers. Fire departments will do fish frys, churches can donate the Sunday offering one day, schools can collect change or something you can recycle for cash like pop tabs. Also, take your blog post a step farther. Email The Ellen Show & Oprah, etc. Make a YouTube vid about it & post it. Set up a Facebook fan page where you can list the events you've got going & where ppl can find & share how to donate. Talk to your local big businesses (big law firms, etc) for donations, ask the city if you can do a road block like the firefighters w/their boots. Organizations that often help include your local Shriners, Rotary, VFW, women's clubs & college sororities. I'll keep thinking, but that's what I got off the top of my head. Good luck! I really hope you can get this dog. I will pray for you, too!

 
At April 9, 2011 at 9:07 PM , Blogger Becky said...

Hey Kristen!
I would love to do a Tastefully Simple Fundraiser for you. You can post a link online and every order will count towards your total. Let me know if you are interested. There is no work for you, other than spreading the word! I've been keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers and I would love to be a part of helping you reach your goal for Alexander. My email is heyteacherteacher@yahoo.com
~ Becky

 
At April 12, 2011 at 6:32 AM , Blogger Kristen said...

Thanks everyone for the ideas! WE are ABSOLUTLY going to try many of these avenues. Keep the ideas coming!

 
At April 13, 2011 at 12:31 PM , Blogger Mihaela said...

I would be willing to donate a tutu from my shop if you decide to run a silent auction of some sort.
Let me know if you're interested lovingshop@gmail.com

 
At April 14, 2011 at 10:42 PM , Blogger Wildtree To You With Erin said...

Getting ready to set up your Wildtree fundraiser right now!

 
At April 16, 2011 at 7:30 PM , Blogger Shannon said...

I got the link from Chrissy Ferguson... not one hour ago I was talking with my dad about service dogs. He was visiting with his dog and the topic just came up. I told a story about meeting a man once who had a service dog who detected his seizures. He rode a motorcycle and had a little sidecar for the dog. I feel compelled to help. I can offer a small donation, will post this on my facebook page and if you ever decide that a silent auction is something you want to do, I will donate free baby sitting, if you think anyone would bid on it. I know it sounds weird from a random person off the internet, but I am an Early Intervention professional with clearances :-) I just can't think of any other ideas, but I wish you all the best and will say a prayer for you and your family.

 
At June 29, 2011 at 5:57 PM , Anonymous Mason's Mommy said...

My prayers are with you! My son has been having seizures since he was 6 months old. And I completely understand what it does to a family. The pain and conflict it causes everyone. The sleepless nights, the guilt, the anxiety, how it tears everyone apart. Just know your not alone. I stumbled upon your blog, on, lets say my 40,000th google search trying to find an answer. So I figured a few prayers your way couldn't hurt :). Stay strong, thats the best gift we can give our babies.

 

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