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Kelowna family needs to reach GoFundMe goal to get service dog for daughter

They are $10,000 short of their $25,000 goal to get a diabetic service dog
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A Kelowna family is looking for your help.

The Ford’s are looking to raise enough money to get a diabetic alert dog for their daughter, Layla, who has Type-1 diabetes.

Layla was seven years old when she received the diagnosis and spent the first week in hospital diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a life-threatening diabetes complication. Since then, Layla and her family have done everything they can to learn how to manage diabetes.

Layla, now 11 years old, loves to be active, play with her friends and does everything she can to not let the condition hold her back but it still affects her life every day. They must monitor her blood-sugar levels 24-hours a day, which can be very difficult as blood-sugar levels can fluctuate dramatically in a growing child and can become hard to control.

When blood sugar levels get too high, Layla is unable to participate in activities which could lead to more complications. It’s more serious when blood sugar levels get too low as it could lead to seizures, unconsciousness and even death.

The Ford family is looking to raise enough money to get Layla a diabetic alert dog, which is trained to alert people when Layla’s blood sugar levels are too high or too low. The dog also provides emotional support and gives Layla more independence.

A highly-trained service dog costs $25,000.

They started a gofundme last June and it currently sits at just over $15,000 raised from mostly friends and family, but they are now looking to the public to help them reach their goal.

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Jordy Cunningham

About the Author: Jordy Cunningham

Hailing from Ladner, B.C., I have been passionate about sports, especially baseball, since I was young. In 2018, I graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree
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