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.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

An Update and a Trip to the Mall!

Although our chip-in widget only says $705 we have actually raised $2,185 to date! Thank you so much for your generosity and caring! We are so excited and so blessed to have people around us who love our boy so much.

Don't forget our fundraiser event on Monday, May 16th at Corona Baptist Church. We need almost $3,000 more to pay for the dog and boot camp (plus a custom made harness like the ones you see in the pictures below). We are so excited to be so much closer to our goal! Thanks again!

Eli went to the Chandler Fashion Mall today with the Power Paws crew. He got to work extensively with Quigley. It was a new experience, being in public, working with the harness, and smelling all the yummy food in the food court! And Quigley had to get used to it too! :-)

They learned how to get on and off an elevator -- very important and one of the most dangerous places for the two of them. They did a lot of walking and command practice as well. Quigley and Eli got a lot of attention as they walked through the mall. They looked pretty good together!

Eli's Occupational Therapist was with us as well, so she could observe and help us with ideas how to use the dog in even more ways to improve Eli's life.


Quigley and Eli learn how to give and take treats gently. Quig says, "I'm not gonna bite you! But I sure do get excited about those treats!"

Quigley is trying to untie Eli's shoe. Get it! That's it! Tug!

Taking a rest at Brookstone.

Which way do we go now? (I like how all three of them are looking in a different direction...)

Eli is so excited and so ready for a new friend. We don't know which dog he will get, but he can't believe it's just a month away!

In early June, Eli will be participating in the Power Paws - Unleashed! Summer Camp and this will be his "boot camp" experience. He will be at this camp with other kids his age, both typical and with disabilities, and they will learn how to handle the dogs together. If all goes well, he'll come home with his dog at the end of this two week camp. So much to learn! Such an exciting new chapter in both the boy's life and the dog's life. We feel like we are adopting a new baby! And we really are. A new yellow (or brown, or black) 2 year old furbaby! A furbaby who is going to give our son independence, love and companionship. So exciting!

We hope to see you on May 16th! (see post below...)

Thank you so much,
Marc and Naomi

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)