Amazing Ricochet
January 17, 2010 by david · Leave a Comment
A friend sent me this video about Ricochet who is out in San Diego and it’s a story that will bring smiles to you and your entire family. You can learn more about this great dog and the wonderful team of people who dedicate so much time, heart, and money to helping others with the help of Ricochet and his cousins at: http://ripcurlricki.com
Ricochet and his team are currently raising money for Ian, who was injured in a car accident. Here is the unpleasant portion of his story:
On July 3, 2008, Tod and Stephanie McFarland and their three children, Ian, then five; Lauren, then two; and Luke, then one, headed out from Carlsbad on a road trip. They were going to attend the wedding of Stephanie’s cousin in Boulder, CO, but they never made it to Boulder. A horrible car accident claimed the lives of Tod and Stephanie and left all three of their beautiful children injured to varying degrees.
While Luke and Lauren’s injuries were minimal, Ian sustained severe head trauma and was taken to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Members of both Tod and Stephanie’s families immediately converged upon SLC to care for the children. Ian’s severe brain injury left him in a coma, and he had to wait to be transferred back to California until he received a shunt and a feeding tube. On August 10, he was flown to Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
Ian slowly came out of his coma, and his rehabilitation continued. He was released from CHSD on Oct. 30, 2008 and returned home with much work to do. Ian has been labeled as having a “diffuse axonal brain injury with an unknown outcome.” He is responding well to therapy and seems to be improving little by little. He no longer has the feeding tube. Ian is able to follow conversations but still has trouble contributing.
Over the course of the past year, Ian has made measurable strides in his quest for recovery and independence. He is able to voluntarily take steps with maximum support of his body, but his movements need a good deal of refinement to be desirably functional. According to his occupational therapist, Ian’s six year old body is growing rapidly, requiring the braces for his therapy be replaced on a regular basis.
Both his therapies and the equipment are costly. I am trying to help raise money so he can get the necessary medical care he needs, and I hope you can help too!
Ian still loves sports and hopes to one day be back at surfing and skateboarding. But it will be a long road. They tell me Ian is the most motivated on the beach, so I’m looking forward to playing with him there, and of course, seeing if I can get him on the surfboard with me! Paw-abunga!
If you’d like to join them in helping little Ian please visit this page for more information: Ian Will Surf Again
The pic below is of the Ricki Team!
Seizure-Alert Dogs
February 25, 2008 by david · Leave a Comment
My brother has had epilepsy for over at least 30 years now and recently had a serious accident after having a seizure while waiting for his wife to pick him up at work. He fell flat on his face and unfortunately the local government he works for has a Taj Mahal so the floor was marble, or as hard as marble. He was in the hospital until today and will be dealing with the repercussions of this fall for some time.
So when I got the email from my sister about “seizure-alert dogs” it definitely caught my attention. The case for having one of these dogs goes something like this:
Seizure-alert dogs, as implied by their name, are dogs that can sense and notify their human companions of an oncoming seizure. This alerting behavior has been reported to occur several seconds to 45 minutes or more before the onset of the seizure. The dog does this by exhibiting marked changes in behavior, including close eye contact, circling, pawing, barking etc.
Although the article goes on to dispute some of the beliefs held by others it doesn’t seem far fetched at all to me. I’ve known since childhood that dogs (pets in general) have senses far superior to ours that can be useful in many situations. Besides what is the downfall to having one of the dogs? Maybe my brother would have been busy petting his buddy and that simple act may have been enough to keep his mind engaged and away from the seizure zone.
If you’d like to read more about seizure alert dogs check out the article at epilepsy.com.