WHOOO’S YOUR VALENTINE?

Please consider donating to help Stryder get a seizure scenting/detection dog -

Stryder is an adorable five-year-old boy. He has an outstanding resilience and amazing attitude that has pulled him through his heroic battle with epilepsy and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a connective tissue disorder). In his first years of life Stryder had MANY seizures, several hospitalizations, upwards of a dozen EEG’s, MRI’s, countless other invasive medical procedures, and many, many more challenges- you can read his story from day one here. Now as always, we are trying to do everything within our power to help Stryder reach his full potential. Stryder is developing and doing amazing things that we didn’t know would be possible for him to do. One of the many ways we would like to help Stryder is by employing a service dog. This dog would help him with mobility, redirect him from negative repetitive behavior or dangerous situations, help calm him for medical procedures, be an asset during therapy and  most importantly, alert us during a seizure. We have just recently learned he has silent seizures while he sleeps, 1-2 spikes every single second and we had no idea! (He was just recently diagnosed with a rare disorder called Landau-Kleffner Syndrome) You can help us in our journey by spreading the word and making a tax deductible donation to 4pawsforability in honor of Stryder Doescher.

To make a tax-deductible donation to 4 Paws For Ability (a 501 C3 non-profit agency) in honor of Stryder:

Or you may mail your check to:

4 Paws for Ability

253 Dayton Ave

Xenia, Ohio 45385

Please remember to write Stryder Doescher in the memo line of your check so that Stryder is given volunteer credits toward receiving his service dog.Please include your name and address so that a receipt and later a thank you note can be mailed to you.

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Why we need a Service Dog:

A service dog (SD) will help Stryder in so many ways. Last year when we began the search for a service dog, we knew that Stryder had epilepsy and we knew he had a connective tissue disorder, both are great reasons for a SD. Our journey for a service dog started prior to knowing he had Landau-Kleffner Syndrome and even then it was a great need, now it is imperative that we help him the best way we can because LKS will cause permanent brain damage when spikes occur and we do not see them.

Service dogs with EDS are great for kids. They can carry school books and such, they pick up whatever you drop, they retrieve things they are trained to such as shoes, help pull off shirt sleeves or pants legs. They help the child become the kid with the cool dog instead of the kid who is different. The other thing is that this will give him independence-such a gift for a child with challenges. Stryder has had many times where he can’t do certain things, he hurts or just can’t focus and a SD will hug him and kiss him if he starts to get frustrated doing things he should be able to do such as button his shirt or snap his pants. Stryder has good days and bad days-some days he is full of energy and painless, but even on those days he will have problems that most people do not have to deal with.

LKS is a type of epilepsy where prognosis is not good. When a child with LKS is on the right medication, they are seizure free, at least with the spikes that occur during sleep. The continuous spikes happen silently, we cannot see them and yet they happen 1-2 per second and cause damage to his brain. The medications do not last for long periods of time so we will have to do overnight EEGs every 3-6 months and watch for epileptic activity and language problems. Stryder is on the maximum dosage right now and once this stops working (and it will, it’s just a matter of time) we will have to try Valium and then steroids and neither may work. If we catch the silent seizures soon, we will prevent some brain damage.  In Stryder’s case he also has other types of seizures and they have yet to be controlled with meds. The breakthrough seizures (such as grand mals, do not happen every day-they can happen one or two in a month). A Service dog will help to let us know when he starts having the silent seizures and also let us know when he has breakthroughs so that we can make sure he is safe. Look at the pictures of the bumps and bruises, they show what was probably a seizure that occurred while he was on the sidewalk.  Some children with LKS do not have “regular” seizures, Stryder does so there are those dangers as well. As it stands, Stryder does not sleep alone for fear of having seizures of any kind. A SD will give him the freedom to do that and other things little boys should be able to do.

Seizure response dogs provide many kinds of assistance:

Before a service dog is placed with Stryder, our family needs to raise $13,000 for 4 Paws For Ability (a 501 C3 non-profit agency) . This is just a fraction of the cost to raise and train a service dog. We are asking that if you or your loved ones make any kind of tax-deductible contributions throughout the year individually, through United Way campaigns at work, and/or through your business, please consider making them to 4 Paws For Ability “in honor of Stryder Doescher.” Once all contributions in Stryder’s honor total $13,000 training will begin with his dog.

Through all of our medical nightmares, many people have asked, “How can we help?” We ask now for your help in this positive plan for Stryder’s future. Will you help us obtain a service dog for Stryder?

He is my superhero!

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