Chumuckla Girl Seeks Seizure Response Assistance Dog

Skylar Morgan, a 9-year-old Chumuckla resident who suffers from cerebral palsy and intractable epilepsy, desperately wants to be the girl with the cool dog.

Skylar has been the girl with the seizures and the girl with the ankle braces long enough.  She’s ready for an image as cool as she is, and with a little financial help from her community, she can be the girl who gets to bring her assistance dog with her everywhere.  That’s pretty cool. What is even cooler is that this dog could potentially save Skylar’s life.

Skylar’s family is hoping to purchase a highly-trained seizure response assistance dog that will recognize seizure symptoms, alert, and seek help when Skylar begins to seize, even rolling her on her side and protecting her head during the seizure.  The dog will also provide comfort and security while Skylar, who often seizes four or five times a week, recovers from the seizure, a particularly difficult and frightening transition.

Sky’s dog, whom she plans to name Bob, Tim or Pepper, can provide stability assistance to help prevent Skylar from falling and provide anxiety relief by providing pressure and comfort when Skylar is particularly upset.  Her pet can accompany her to doctor’s appointments, hospitals, for lab work, and will also accompany her to school.

Skylar, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at five months old, was initially given a devastating prognosis.  Her parents were told she would probably be in a wheelchair, cognitively impaired, have difficulty communicating, and there was a mention of the possibility of seizures.

Thankfully, God had different plans. Sky, now a third grader, doesn’t need a wheelchair but does wear an ankle-foot orthotic and has difficulty with balance and coordination.  She is in a regular classroom and communicates freely.  She says her favorite subject is math and she wants to be a teacher and a mama when she grows up.

Although this vivacious girl beat the odds in many ways, she began experiencing seizures at only 11 months old and was diagnosed with intractable epilepsy, a form of epilepsy resistant to medication and medical treatments.  Skylar’s mom, Jaimie, says she has lost count of the number of times her daughter has been transported via ambulance–even life flight once–to the emergency room due to seizures, some of which have lasted for up to five hours.

Sky has tried virtually every seizure medication available to her, but none have provided relief.  She has undergone multiple surgeries to gain seizure control but continues to have different types of seizures regularly.  In addition to the seizures, she suffers from migraine headaches, vertigo, extreme fatigue, and anxiety.

Beyond Skylar’s complicated medical conditions, though, is just a little girl.  And even though compassion draws many to her, it is Skylar’s great big heart for others that endears her to so many. Skylar loves helping others who are in need. She donates her toys and clothes to children in need, fills shoe boxes for Operation Christmas child, and eagerly attends Family Promise meals to minister to those who are homeless.  She serves happily at church mission opportunities, gives her birthday money to missionaries, and shares her chore money with homeless men on the street.  Skylar gives freely and loves completely.

Now that she has a need, Skylar is working hard to raise money, setting up lemonade stands and offering to wash dogs.  But assistance dogs are expensive, and Sky’s family is already taxed with other medical expenses.  To help Skylar out in her fundraising efforts, her friends and family have set up a youcaring.com website.  They see it as a chance to pour love back on Skylar, giving as freely and unconditionally as she does.

Working together, Sky’s friends hope they can help Skylar become the girl with the cool dog.  And while Skylar may just view her dog as a beloved pet, her friends know this dog is much more than that.  It will serve as a security blanket, a trusted companion, a friend, a source of comfort, a protector, and possibly even a life saver.  In short, this dog could be one of the greatest blessings of Skylar’s life.

If you are interested in helping Skylar, visit  https://www.youcaring.com/skyscause

or find Paws for Skylar’s Cause on facebook.  Any donation will be sincerely appreciated by Skylar and her family.