K9s for kids

Bryce Partee – DFF Family 2011

We are writing you on behalf of our son Bryce, who just turned five in April; he was diagnosed type 1 diabetes at twenty-one months old. He has been insulin dependent officially for more than half of his short wonderful life. Up to this point he has taken approximately 10,000 shots and roughly 20,000 plus finger pricks! Recently he was blessed to get an insulin pump and we are hoping this makes him a healthier kid, this does not change the fact that he still needs Insulin to live, its merely and literally a ‘’mobile life support unit’’ he carries on his side 24 hours a day! We still have to manage how much insulin he gets and worry about him constantly. Bryce is still the trooper he has always been and rarely complains and is always a blessing to our family!

If you have ever met Bryce you know how full of life and mischief he is and how beautiful his laugh and smile are. He continually amazes us and is a blessing to have in our lives and is a daily reminder of spirit, humility and positive attitude! We recently learned of an amazing new tool in diabetes management. Believe it or not its a diabetic alert dog or aka DAD. This amazing dog can alert and notify of high and low blood glucose levels thereby allowing us to promptly make necessary corrections to avert the episode or lessen its severity. Last May we got to see this awesome K9 in person at the Wildrose DAD seminar it was truly one of the most amazing things we had ever witnessed! We immediately knew we wanted this amazing new tool for Bryce because its our job as his parents to make sure his quality of life is the best it can be!

Dear Cole and the Diabetes Friendly Foundation,
Thank you so very much for the donation toward the DAD. Also, thank you for all that you do to help type one diabetics live better lives. Words can't explain how grateful we are!
Thank you,
Candice and Bryce Partee.

Noland – DFF Family 2011

It seemed like just yesterday life was normal...it's amazing how one diagnosis can turn life around in a moment. Whitley was 8 years old when she received the news that her life would never be the same. She was always petrified of needles, doctors, and being out of control. I can still remember holding her down as the nurse had to draw blood for further testing of Type 1 diabetes. She screamed at the top of her lungs (quite honestly, i wanted to as well) as they drew blood to confirm the report. That was a bad day!

Now, two years later, we are taking steps to get a little closer to normal again. Since that dreadful day, we have grown accustomed to 8-10 finger pricks a day and the constant chasing of blood glucose levels...even in the wee hours of the morning. An insulin pump has helped somewhat but not completely. The constant care that a Type 1 Diabetic requires is very tiring, physically and emotionally.

One day, a pastor friend of mine called me and told me he saw an article in the paper about dogs potentially helping someone with diabetes. We immediately began looking into this and discovered Wildrose Kennels. We fell in love with the staff (and the precious little puppies) and began to research this idea further. The more we studied the more we realized this was exactly what we needed to improve the quality and quantity of Whitley's life. While money seemed to be our biggest obstacle it's hard to put a price tag on life.

We know that a new day is coming as we prepare to receive our DAD named Hope. We are hopeful that she will provide the help that we need as caregivers and the companionship that Whitley will need as she transitions into this next phase of her life. Romans 8:25 reads "but if we hope for what we do not yet have we wait for it patiently.

Blessings,

Scooter & Allyson Noland

Haedyn Jacob Horstman – DFF Family 2011

There is nothing more terrifying than to know that your child's life is in danger every single day. Constantly worrying about the consequences of long term highs and then the fear of lows which can lead to seizures, coma and even death. We have had many hospital visits/stays, transports to bigger hospitals, finger pokes, tears and have had to try and explain to our baby why God gave him diabetes and why we cant make it go away. We have had to hold him down to give him his shots (one of the worst feelings ever as a parent), drag him out of bed in the middle of the night and force him to eat/drink something even if he isnt hungry or thirsty and continue to poke his pore little fingers even though at times you cant find a spot that you havent already poked. It is heartbreaking to look into his sweet little face and tell him this is for the best.

This past spring, we were able to attend a workshop at Wildrose and see first hand what these dogs can do and it was amazing! These dogs were alerting to highs and lows before the meters were even reading them, allowing them to act accordingly before their levels actually hit a high or low. It was absolutely amazing. After attending that workshop, we knew this was the right thing for us. We believe that having a diabetic alert dog will greatly benefit Haedyn especially with his history of hitting lows throughout the night. The fear of an undetected low at night tends to cause us to allow higher levels at bed time, which in the long run is not helping him. And we want nothing more than for Haedyn to live a long, happy and healthy life. There has not been a night that has gone by that we haven’t lost sleep over worrying that he might hit another low during the night that we don't catch. Having this dog would forever change that and our lives. It would provide us with another set of eyes and ears and a NOSE! Knowing that we have yet another tool to help us in our battle against this horrible disease is nothing short of a blessing. Kender is the name Haedyn has chosen to give his D.A.D. and from what we hear at only 4 months old he is already one AMAZING pup. We cannot wait to bring him home and welcome him into our family.

Alan, Julia and Haedyn Horstman