Glycogen Storage Disease – StarchWars

A New Hope

Posted on 02. Sep, 2007 by BMW in Glycogen Storage Disease, Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1A, Medical Service Dogs, hypoglycemia, research

We’ve had Luke in the house for one week now and the experience has had its ups and downs. For one thing since Luke is being raised as a service dog there is much more monitoring and discipline than there otherwise would be. With the current load of 4 small boys with Glycogen Storage Disease this has been tricky. However, we have been reminded of how important and particular this dog is to us.

I’ll start with reflecting on how we came to the decision that a dog was a good move for our seemingly already maxed out household. Every Sunday our family watches the show “Nature” on PBS. Last season we were watching the episode “Dogs That Changed The World” and were suprised to find a section on Medical Dogs. The story told of Delta, a German Shepard that is able to detect the changes in it’s owner’s body chemistry that occurs when he experiences low blood sugar levels. We of course started to think immediately of the benefits for a child with GSD and what the possibilities of having a dog trained and disciplined specifically for detecting the onset of hypoglycemia.

Over the next few months we began our research. We talked to trainers and breeders alike trying to determine if it was possible. The answers varied, but the overall conclusion was that if there was a detectable scent that the body produces when hypoglycemia start to kick in then yes, it was possible. We even found an organization based in California called Dogs4Diabetics that specializes specifically in training dogs to be companions for diabetic patients. Our immediate response was “Eureka!”, but we were disheartened to find out that they were only working with people in Northern California and would only train for diabetic patients. We however didn’t give up.

We found a local trainer that was willing to help us train a dog, but it seemed very iffy that he would be able to help the dog specifically target a response in low blood sugar and it would not be a cheap venture. So, we continued our research and questions. We also shared our idea with Dr Weinstein and he seemed optimistic and excited about the prospect. In fact, during our last visit to Florida we entertained the idea of adopting one of the GSD malteagle pups (that didn’t end up with GSD), but the breed didn’t seem ideal for what we were looking for.

We started to talk to the kids about the prospect of getting a dog-naturally, they were excited. We decided to set a goal to find a dog and started praying for help in finding one that could detect low blood sugars. To our surprise the boys were very diligent in keeping the request in their prayers.

Finally, in July, we came in contact with Paula DeVaney with Genesis Service Dogs (ya that’s GSD too), a local organization that raises labradoodles for various service dog organizations all over the country. Surprisingly, they knew of and had even donated to Dogs4Diabetics! Paula also had a litter of 13 newborn pups that would be ready to leave their mother the end of August. Ironically, it was the uncle of this litter that had been donated to Dogs4Diabetics. No doubt that if we were going to move forward with the decision to incorporate a dog into our family’s lifestyle this was the opportunity which we had been petitioning the Lord for, and working towards.

Since we would be raising the dog to be a service dog, Genesis Service Dogs allowed us to sign on as raisers for the dog with the option of having the dog donated to us if it all worked out. Again, another ideal situation for our family.

A few weeks before it was time to pick up the new puppy we started to attend weekly training and instruction on what we needed to do as a family to correctly condition the dog. Then the time came to pick up the dog. Our oldest son, Mark, being a Star Wars fan had finally decided on naming the dog Luke after contemplating the names Yoda and Chewbacca.

We brought the labradoodle home and he began to impress us immediately. He was rather well behaved for a new pup and took reprimand well. Despite the good behavior of the dog the load started to take it’s toll by Friday. Yet, we were given a glimpse of the possible benefit of sticking with it.

Our kids started to get sick and Ethan went to bed early. With the bustle of the day we didn’t think much of it. After the kids were in bed and the dog in his crate we heard Luke barking and acting very peculiar (he had to this point been very laid back and rarely barked). After a minute we decided we better see what was the matter. We opened his crate and he bolted out of the room and downstairs. He seemed flustered and disoriented. We weren’t sure what to make of it. We let him outside to relieve and took him back upstairs. He was still antsy and we wondered what had happened to cause the alarm.

Ethan then awoke and was in a cold sweat. We checked his sugars and they were at 40. We immediately began emergency procedures to get his blood sugar levels back into the safe zone. After we got Ethan’s blood sugar under control, Luke seemed to finally relax.

Of course, we are trying to be objective in working with Luke. We recognize that this episode could be a coincidence, but the experience has given us “a new hope” that Luke will be able to detect hypoglycemia. It also reminds us that God is blessing us in our efforts to take care of our children to the best of our ability.