|
|
Featured Contributor Pam Wilson
The Great Promise of Service Dogs
by Pam Wilson
My son and I were walking through a store one day when we met a woman with a service dog in training. She greeted my son and invited him to pet the dog while we chatted.
I had heard that some dogs recognized the onset of low blood sugar episodes in children with diabetes. My son had recently experienced seizures in the middle of the night due to an unexpected blood sugar drop during his sleep two hours after his 1:00 a.m. blood test. I had woken up hearing the sound of his head and feet bouncing every minute or so, and walked in to check on him.
He was laying very still, with his eyes wide open, pale and unnatural looking, when I found him. At the onset of the next stiff bouncing I was so relieved that he was alive that I cried out to him. He didn't respond but was able to sit up and drink two small cans of apple juice, with his eyes wide open.
I should have given him an emergency glucagon injection, but the apple juice worked quickly. He could not close his eyes, but he was able to speak. I thought he said "Need a hug" but a few minutes later he repeated the phrase a couple of times: "Call a doctor." His endocrinologist had already called back by that time. After a few more minutes, he could blink. I thought I should have put in some eye drops -- and the next day added that to his emergency kit by his bed. I would have added a service dog the next day, too, if such a thing were possible.
Since most of the symptoms of hypoglycemia my son showed were also the symptoms of being a seven to eleven year old boy, and other adults often attributed the behavioral symptoms to Down syndrome, I had been interested in finding a service dog for him before the seizure episode.
I learned from the woman at the store that it was a long and rather expensive process to acquire a service dog, but that the waiting time could be shortened if I committed to a two week training period at a facility in California where the dogs received their final training before being matched to a specific person. I believe the wait would then be a year rather than two years - the specifics escape me but she did give me contact information.
My son had obviously enjoyed his time with this dog while the trainer and I spoke, and she leaned down to ask him if he would like a dog of his own.
He smiled up at her and said, "I prefer cats."
**************
Do you know an organization or group that would be interested in 'adopting' a cabin where families stay for their weekend? Read more about current opportunities to participate in or support Camp Prime Time at http://www.campprimetime.org
Camp Prime Time is hosting a dinner and auction on November 17, 2007 at the Yakima Valley Visitor and Convention Center. For more information, see http://www.campprimetime.org/specialevents.html
by Pam Wilson
My son and I were walking through a store one day when we met a woman with a service dog in training. She greeted my son and invited him to pet the dog while we chatted.
I had heard that some dogs recognized the onset of low blood sugar episodes in children with diabetes. My son had recently experienced seizures in the middle of the night due to an unexpected blood sugar drop during his sleep two hours after his 1:00 a.m. blood test. I had woken up hearing the sound of his head and feet bouncing every minute or so, and walked in to check on him.
He was laying very still, with his eyes wide open, pale and unnatural looking, when I found him. At the onset of the next stiff bouncing I was so relieved that he was alive that I cried out to him. He didn't respond but was able to sit up and drink two small cans of apple juice, with his eyes wide open.
I should have given him an emergency glucagon injection, but the apple juice worked quickly. He could not close his eyes, but he was able to speak. I thought he said "Need a hug" but a few minutes later he repeated the phrase a couple of times: "Call a doctor." His endocrinologist had already called back by that time. After a few more minutes, he could blink. I thought I should have put in some eye drops -- and the next day added that to his emergency kit by his bed. I would have added a service dog the next day, too, if such a thing were possible.
Since most of the symptoms of hypoglycemia my son showed were also the symptoms of being a seven to eleven year old boy, and other adults often attributed the behavioral symptoms to Down syndrome, I had been interested in finding a service dog for him before the seizure episode.
I learned from the woman at the store that it was a long and rather expensive process to acquire a service dog, but that the waiting time could be shortened if I committed to a two week training period at a facility in California where the dogs received their final training before being matched to a specific person. I believe the wait would then be a year rather than two years - the specifics escape me but she did give me contact information.
My son had obviously enjoyed his time with this dog while the trainer and I spoke, and she leaned down to ask him if he would like a dog of his own.
He smiled up at her and said, "I prefer cats."
**************
Do you know an organization or group that would be interested in 'adopting' a cabin where families stay for their weekend? Read more about current opportunities to participate in or support Camp Prime Time at http://www.campprimetime.org
Camp Prime Time is hosting a dinner and auction on November 17, 2007 at the Yakima Valley Visitor and Convention Center. For more information, see http://www.campprimetime.org/specialevents.html
|
I scarcely knew who I was, and wanted to know everything about who my daughter might be, and how to do everything 'just right' so she would reach her "highest potential." But I was very uncertain how to bathe her, and her adventures with fingernails and my clipping them were beyond my abilities to tolerate or comprehend. My childbirth education instructor saved my life when I asked her whether my daughter was 'colicky' and she told me, "No, not if she ever smiles." Being deliriously in love with my baby and totally fascinated by every expression, sound and movement she made helped get me through the hardest times. My education and work experience, not so much. When I was pregnant with my second child, I thought I'd learned enough to avoid the uncertainties and worries I felt when his sister was a newborn. But instead of a 'natural' birth, he had to be delivered via C-section. And he came with an extra chromosome. He developed jaundice, so he could not 'room in' with me. I dragged myself down to the nursery because I needed to touch and hold him, and when I picked him up found he was attached by wires to a heart monitor. It has only gone downhill, and then up, and then down again, and up, from there. No matter where you are right now, I'm glad you have found SoulSupporter.com, and I hope you will share your story with us, here. Special Needs Children Help and Information http://www.bellaonline.com/site/specialneedschildren The Special Needs Children website at BellaOnline.com offers information, resources and support for families raising children with special needs, developmental disabilities or delays, chronic health conditions and physical challenges. Articles also reflect the interests and concerns of advocates, teachers and other education professionals, medical support staff, human services and emergency response personnel, design professionals, community activists, friends, neighbors and extended family. Pam Wilson's articles have appeared in Northwest Baby and Child, Mothering Magazine, and the Northwest Ethnic News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. |
Other Stories from Pam:
A Day at the Park
When my children were very small, I would sometimes need to strap one in a carrier and put the other in a stroller to escape to the playground of our neighborhood park.
read more...
Heroes in our Family
There are some moments that we never forget, in days that would otherwise have been quite ordinary. When I heard that my younger sister
read more...
Meditation
My dear friend told me she was spending a few days at a retreat in California to meditate and I was glad for her. While she was
read more...
My First Trail Ride - Don't Lose the Stirrup and Shock the Cowboy
The self image I had grown from being a university student, holding substantial jobs, seeking
read more...