One of my favorite things to do lately is check the mail. Today we had another letter from PAWS, a copy of a donation letter sent to a donor of $100!
We now have the thermometer up over $4100, and it's such a good feeling to know that every dollar brings Rachel closer to having her dog.
As the days get shorter, darker, and colder, it can be hard to keep our mood up, but every one of these letters is like a ray of sunlight, and just brightens my whole day.
Thanks again for being there for us.
-Kelly
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Kittens & Giving Thanks
We are now just about a week and a half out from Thanksgiving, and I have been in the habit of giving thanks for something each day this month, and posting it on Facebook, in addition to an Epilepsy Awareness fact.
I have found this exercise to be enlightening to me, and a good reminder of how blessed we really are, even in times that can be trying.
This last weekend we visited with my Mom, and got the chance to play with some really little kittens she's fostering. We'd love to have one, but both Brett and Rachel are allergic, so no dice. Here's a photo...
Then last night the neighbor girl came over and asked if we'd babysit her guinea pig while her family is away for Thanksgiving. Heck yeah! She's a sweet little thing, and we're looking forward to it.
So in addition to all of that goodness, I updated the thermometer today by another $61! I will try and make another post before Thanksgiving, and will certainly do so if more donations are received, but if I don't, I want to be sure and wish you and yours all the best. Enjoy each other. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
-Kelly
I have found this exercise to be enlightening to me, and a good reminder of how blessed we really are, even in times that can be trying.
This last weekend we visited with my Mom, and got the chance to play with some really little kittens she's fostering. We'd love to have one, but both Brett and Rachel are allergic, so no dice. Here's a photo...
Then last night the neighbor girl came over and asked if we'd babysit her guinea pig while her family is away for Thanksgiving. Heck yeah! She's a sweet little thing, and we're looking forward to it.
So in addition to all of that goodness, I updated the thermometer today by another $61! I will try and make another post before Thanksgiving, and will certainly do so if more donations are received, but if I don't, I want to be sure and wish you and yours all the best. Enjoy each other. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
-Kelly
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Patience Is A Virtue
...Or so I've been told. I have told people in the past that it's never really been my goal in life to be virtuous, and I am lousy at being patient. The reason I mention this is that I was just sure that it had been at least 2 years since we made our initial application with Paws. Today I found that application, and it is dated May, 2010. I was wrong. It's only been 1 1/2 years, though that still seems like a long time to me.;)
Also, take a look at the thermometer! It says $4000.00 today! Technically, it should say $3999.78, but it rounds up, and I'm okay with that.:)
We got notice today of a single donation in the amount of $170, from someone I'm acquainted with via eBay, but have never met in person. I'm still astounded at the generosity of folks who only know me via a computer screen, but still are willing to help.
We are blessed indeed.
-Kelly
Also, take a look at the thermometer! It says $4000.00 today! Technically, it should say $3999.78, but it rounds up, and I'm okay with that.:)
We got notice today of a single donation in the amount of $170, from someone I'm acquainted with via eBay, but have never met in person. I'm still astounded at the generosity of folks who only know me via a computer screen, but still are willing to help.
We are blessed indeed.
-Kelly
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Call Me Scarlett...
You know, I've never really felt as though I had anything at all in common with Scarlett O'Hara. Today I find that that isn't quite true.
I had gone out early to do my grocery shopping. Brett was home with Rachel, and I could shop alone, taking my time, and making sure I got everything we needed.
I was standing in the checkout line, and the cover of the People magazine caught my attention (as they're designed to do), featuring Kim Kardashian's marriage/divorce debacle. The woman in line ahead of me clucked her tongue and said how foolish she thought it was that so much money was spent for nothing. I agreed, and told her what my mother had said about it, that so many people could have been provided with seizure response dogs. I told her that we are currently in the process of raising funds for Rachel's dog.
She finished her checkout, and I was unloading my cart onto the belt, when I felt her hand on my arm. I looked up, and she was holding out a couple of folded bills. It was $6, and she apologized that she didn't have more on her, but wanted me to have it for Rachel's dog.
I was gobsmacked, and immediately teared up, but managed to choke out a thank you, though I forgot to ask her name. We are incredibly thankful for every donation made in Rachel's name, no matter the amount, but somehow the ones that come from strangers have a special impact, and really help me remember how much goodness there really is in people.
So, in relying on the kindness of strangers, I have become a bit like Miss Scarlett, and I'm learning to embrace that part of me. It's a journey for someone who's always been very independent, but getting Rachel what she needs to be independent has to come before my pride.
-Kelly
I had gone out early to do my grocery shopping. Brett was home with Rachel, and I could shop alone, taking my time, and making sure I got everything we needed.
I was standing in the checkout line, and the cover of the People magazine caught my attention (as they're designed to do), featuring Kim Kardashian's marriage/divorce debacle. The woman in line ahead of me clucked her tongue and said how foolish she thought it was that so much money was spent for nothing. I agreed, and told her what my mother had said about it, that so many people could have been provided with seizure response dogs. I told her that we are currently in the process of raising funds for Rachel's dog.
She finished her checkout, and I was unloading my cart onto the belt, when I felt her hand on my arm. I looked up, and she was holding out a couple of folded bills. It was $6, and she apologized that she didn't have more on her, but wanted me to have it for Rachel's dog.
I was gobsmacked, and immediately teared up, but managed to choke out a thank you, though I forgot to ask her name. We are incredibly thankful for every donation made in Rachel's name, no matter the amount, but somehow the ones that come from strangers have a special impact, and really help me remember how much goodness there really is in people.
So, in relying on the kindness of strangers, I have become a bit like Miss Scarlett, and I'm learning to embrace that part of me. It's a journey for someone who's always been very independent, but getting Rachel what she needs to be independent has to come before my pride.
-Kelly
Friday, November 4, 2011
Donations & Doggy Dreams
We've received another donation letter, and increased the thermometer by another $50, moving it up to $3830.00!
Rachel woke with a small seizure this morning, which left her tired and needing to go back to bed shortly after breakfast. When she's feeling kind of bummed by seizures we like to imagine that her Seizure Dog is one of the many puppies being raised by foster parents right now, just waiting for the time to be picked out and trained just for her.
Please keep sending those positive vibes and energy our way. We are so ready for that dog!
-Kelly
Rachel woke with a small seizure this morning, which left her tired and needing to go back to bed shortly after breakfast. When she's feeling kind of bummed by seizures we like to imagine that her Seizure Dog is one of the many puppies being raised by foster parents right now, just waiting for the time to be picked out and trained just for her.
Please keep sending those positive vibes and energy our way. We are so ready for that dog!
-Kelly
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Epilepsy Facts And Figures
November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. In honor of this, I am sharing this information from the Epilepsy Foundation. Please make particular note of the items in Bold. This is why Rachel needs a Seizure Response Dog:
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the United States after Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. It is equal in prevalence to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease combined.
Epilepsy is not a single entity but a family of more than 40 syndromes that affect 2,700,000 people in the U.S. and 50,000,000 worldwide.
Epilepsy strikes most often among the very young and the very old, although anyone can get it at any age. In the U.S., it currently affects more than 326,000 children under age fifteen and more than 90,000 of them have severe seizures that cannot be adequately treated.
The number of cases in the elderly is beginning to soar as the baby boom generation approaches retirement age. Currently more than 570,000 adults aged 65 and above in the U.S. have the condition.
Epilepsy imposes an annual economic burden of $15.5 billion on the nation in associated health care costs and losses in employment, wages, and productivity.
The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population and the risk of sudden death is 24 times greater.
This year another 200,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with epilepsy and an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 will die of seizures and related causes, including status epilepticus (non-stop seizures), sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), drowning and other accidents.
Epilepsy and its treatment produce a health related quality of life – measured in days of activity limitation, pain, depression, anxiety, reduced vitality, and insufficient sleep or rest – similar to arthritis, heart problems, diabetes, and cancer.
Thirty to forty percent of people with epilepsy are severely affected and continue to have seizures despite treatment.
Of major chronic medical conditions, epilepsy is among the least understood even though one in three adults knows someone with the disorder.
Lack of knowledge about proper seizure first aid exposes affected individuals to injury from unnecessary restraint and from objects needlessly forced into the mouth.
The leading non-medical problem confronting people with epilepsy is discrimination in education, employment and social acceptance.
Epilepsy is prevalent among other disability groups such as autism (25.5%), cerebral palsy (13%), Down syndrome (13.6%), and mental retardation (25.5%). For people with both cerebral palsy and mental retardation the prevalence is (40%).
The association between epilepsy and depression is especially strong. More than one of every three persons with epilepsy are also affected by the mood disorder, and people with a history of depression have a 3 to 7 times higher risk of developing epilepsy.
Some people with epilepsy do not even know that they have it, having been told they have a “seizure disorder” instead. This unfortunate euphemism arose because of the historical stigma associated with epilepsy, which the Epilepsy Foundation and others have fought to dispel.
It is 14 years on average between the onset of epilepsy and surgical intervention for seizures uncontrollable by medication. American physicians may be unaware of the safety and efficacy of epilepsy surgery, making it among the most underutilized of proven effective therapeutic interventions in the field of medicine.
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the United States after Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. It is equal in prevalence to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease combined.
Epilepsy is not a single entity but a family of more than 40 syndromes that affect 2,700,000 people in the U.S. and 50,000,000 worldwide.
Epilepsy strikes most often among the very young and the very old, although anyone can get it at any age. In the U.S., it currently affects more than 326,000 children under age fifteen and more than 90,000 of them have severe seizures that cannot be adequately treated.
The number of cases in the elderly is beginning to soar as the baby boom generation approaches retirement age. Currently more than 570,000 adults aged 65 and above in the U.S. have the condition.
Epilepsy imposes an annual economic burden of $15.5 billion on the nation in associated health care costs and losses in employment, wages, and productivity.
The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population and the risk of sudden death is 24 times greater.
This year another 200,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with epilepsy and an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 will die of seizures and related causes, including status epilepticus (non-stop seizures), sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), drowning and other accidents.
Epilepsy and its treatment produce a health related quality of life – measured in days of activity limitation, pain, depression, anxiety, reduced vitality, and insufficient sleep or rest – similar to arthritis, heart problems, diabetes, and cancer.
Thirty to forty percent of people with epilepsy are severely affected and continue to have seizures despite treatment.
Of major chronic medical conditions, epilepsy is among the least understood even though one in three adults knows someone with the disorder.
Lack of knowledge about proper seizure first aid exposes affected individuals to injury from unnecessary restraint and from objects needlessly forced into the mouth.
The leading non-medical problem confronting people with epilepsy is discrimination in education, employment and social acceptance.
Epilepsy is prevalent among other disability groups such as autism (25.5%), cerebral palsy (13%), Down syndrome (13.6%), and mental retardation (25.5%). For people with both cerebral palsy and mental retardation the prevalence is (40%).
The association between epilepsy and depression is especially strong. More than one of every three persons with epilepsy are also affected by the mood disorder, and people with a history of depression have a 3 to 7 times higher risk of developing epilepsy.
Some people with epilepsy do not even know that they have it, having been told they have a “seizure disorder” instead. This unfortunate euphemism arose because of the historical stigma associated with epilepsy, which the Epilepsy Foundation and others have fought to dispel.
It is 14 years on average between the onset of epilepsy and surgical intervention for seizures uncontrollable by medication. American physicians may be unaware of the safety and efficacy of epilepsy surgery, making it among the most underutilized of proven effective therapeutic interventions in the field of medicine.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Big News!
In today's mail was the copy of a letter, sent to my California Mom, acknowledging her incredible donation of $1,000.00!! This is huge, and we are so grateful.:)
So far, we have earned, or had donated, over 10% of the needed monies, and if we include the grant from CHF, we've got about 20%. Seems like a long way to go yet, but we know we'll get there.
Rachel did end up having 2 more seizures since my last update, but they were smaller than most, and this month's 5 is a lot less than the 11 in September. We continue to hope someday she won't have to worry about them anymore, but in the meantime we look forward to Rachel having her Paws companion to help keep her safe.
Please continue sending good thoughts, prayers and positive energy our way. Every day I hope to get some news from Paws about Rachel's dog.
-Kelly
So far, we have earned, or had donated, over 10% of the needed monies, and if we include the grant from CHF, we've got about 20%. Seems like a long way to go yet, but we know we'll get there.
Rachel did end up having 2 more seizures since my last update, but they were smaller than most, and this month's 5 is a lot less than the 11 in September. We continue to hope someday she won't have to worry about them anymore, but in the meantime we look forward to Rachel having her Paws companion to help keep her safe.
Please continue sending good thoughts, prayers and positive energy our way. Every day I hope to get some news from Paws about Rachel's dog.
-Kelly
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