Talan’s Top Dog
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Talan’s story: Talan, who is 6 years old, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes about 6 months ago. He is smart, funny, sweet, loves to dance, play his ukulele and drums, and he is relatively unaware of his blood sugar levels. While sleeping he has some dangerously low blood sugar levels that can cause seizures and even death. His parents have caught these lows by getting up every 2 hours throughout the night to test his blood sugar levels. It is exhausting for everyone in the family. Recently, Talan’s medical team decided to start him on an insulin pump and Continuous Glucose Monitor (see pictures below). The GCM is a sensor inserted into the fatty tissue in his body and measures the amount of glucose in the tissue that surrounds it. In Talan’s case it goes into the only spot that has enough fat, his booty. This sensor is connected to an alarm that goes off whenever Talan’s blood sugar is out of safe range. It alarms constantly, which is great…and horrible at the same time. Kelle, Talan’s mom, has not been able to work because someone who is trained in diabetes management has to be with Talan ALL THE TIME to answer to his alarms. Because of the constant alarms, she has started “helping out” in his kindergarten class and put everything else in life on the back burner. Talan was able to wear the sensor for 4 days before he started complaining that it hurt. The sensor’s metal wire that sits under the skin causes it to be very painful and his allergies to medical adhesives make it difficult to keep it attached to his body. Inserting the senor is torture as it is inserted with a harpoon looking device that uses a huge needle. This much needed sensor just IS NOT going to work. It has become more than any little boy (or his parents) should have to endure. This little guy has to endure 15+ finger pokes a day, plus sensor and insulin infusion site changes every three days. TORTURE.
This is where you come in. D.A.D. stands for Diabetic Alert Dog. A D.A.D can smell the changes in body odor when glucose levels change rapidly becoming too high or too low. The specially bred puppies are trained just like a bomb squad dog- only to the scent of diabetic highs and lows. They are trained to your specific scent from just a few weeks old. These amazing service dogs are the answer to the Carthey family’s prayers! A way to monitor Talan’s blood sugar without painful needle sticks, painful tape rashes, wearing a metal wire in his booty and NO more scary alarm waking the whole house up all night long. Gentle and organic puppy kisses and nudges sound SO much more comforting. Not to mention the peace of mind that Talan will always have a guardian at home and at school, companionship, feel safe and secure and his parents won’t have to live in constant fear about whether or not Talan will be alive in the morning.
With all of that said, Talan’s family has formed “Talan’s Top Dog”, a team dedicated to fundraising for Talan’s D.A.D. Together we can help make Talan and his family’s life so much better! The lifesaving Diabetic Alert Dog that Talan needs is $20,000; more than most of us could ever afford on our own. Would you be willing to help support a great cause?
