Eli and Quilter

Eli and Quilter

Eli's Story

Eli is a wonderful 13-year-old young man with an interesting and remarkable story. He has been on a miraculous journey his whole life and this is the beginning of the next chapter.

Eli began having seizures when he was 17 months old and these quickly progressed to become life-threatening. After much testing and trying several medications, it was determined that the best thing for Eli was brain surgery to try and stop them. On May 17,1999, Eli underwent a modified hemispherectomy, the removal of most of the left side of his brain. This surgery left him seizure free, but paralyzed on the right side of his body and without speech. He has, over the last 11 years regained his speech, his ability to walk and much use of his right hand, in what we feel is a remarkable recovery.

But this world is a two-handed world and in our desire to allow him to be as independent as possible, we recently applied for a service dog for him. We hope that this dog will not only assist him in carrying things, opening doors for him when his hand is full and helping him keep his balance when he is walking in his beloved mountains, we also hope that the dog will be a bridge to the rest of the world for him, helping him connect with others. We also know that the special bond he will have with the dog will only benefit him in ways we can't imagine right now.Join us as we move forward through his journey to his dog, and the rest of his life.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Learning to "Drive"

Eli got his first lessons in learning to "drive" a dog yesterday. It was really neat. He got to work with three dogs, all with very different personalities. Sweet, loveable Phil (Philadelphia) who was a quiet, big boy. Adorable little Quail who was excited and happy and interested in Eli. And, of course, our friend Bella who came to our house for the first interview. She's still a silly puppy but after a while, settled down and listend to Eli. (of course, it was probably the treats he had....).

We talked about what Eli wants and needs from his dog and the Power Paws people got to see Eli's personality with the dogs. We will go back in 6-8 weeks for another sesson.

Meanwhile, we need to raise funds. Check back with us to see what fundraisers are going on.

We are so excited to see what this will mean in Eli's life!

Marc and Naomi
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