I just received an email from my cousin, Pamela, in Florida asking me for help. I am extending this plea to all of you around the globe. Her son, Max, has a rare disease called Ataxia Telangiectasia. I have attached a description of his disease below.
We are looking for someone to donate a large or giant breed puppy to be trained as an assistance dog to help Max. There is an organization that will train the puppy for free as an assistance dog. A few days ago, the puppy that was donated for Max was diagnosed with a leg deformity, so he is not suitable to help Max. As you can imagine, everyone is upset about this setback, and Max is heartbroken because he had already met and fallen in love with the puppy. Assistance dogs give people with disabilities a great sense of security and freedom.
Max is 21 years old, 5'10" tall and 125 pounds. He is very independent and lives on his own. He gets around on a motorized wheelchair. When Max walks, he is very unstable and has a tendency to fall, so the dog will have to be big enough to support his weight to help him get up.
I would really appreciate it if you could pass this around to as many people as possible, and hopefully someone has a puppy that they would be willing to donate to be trained as an assistance dog for Max. If you are interested in knowing more or have a puppy that you are able to donate, please contact my cousin, Pamela Stitzer at adogformax@gmail.com
Description of Max's condition:
We are looking for someone to donate a large or giant breed puppy to be trained as an assistance dog to help Max. There is an organization that will train the puppy for free as an assistance dog. A few days ago, the puppy that was donated for Max was diagnosed with a leg deformity, so he is not suitable to help Max. As you can imagine, everyone is upset about this setback, and Max is heartbroken because he had already met and fallen in love with the puppy. Assistance dogs give people with disabilities a great sense of security and freedom.
Max is 21 years old, 5'10" tall and 125 pounds. He is very independent and lives on his own. He gets around on a motorized wheelchair. When Max walks, he is very unstable and has a tendency to fall, so the dog will have to be big enough to support his weight to help him get up.
I would really appreciate it if you could pass this around to as many people as possible, and hopefully someone has a puppy that they would be willing to donate to be trained as an assistance dog for Max. If you are interested in knowing more or have a puppy that you are able to donate, please contact my cousin, Pamela Stitzer at adogformax@gmail.com
Description of Max's condition:
Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) (Boder-Sedgwick syndrome[1] or Louis–Bar syndrome[2]:555) is a rare, neurodegenerative, inherited disease that affects many parts of the body and causes severe disability. Ataxia refers to poor coordination and telangiectasia to small dilated blood vessels, both of which are hallmarks of the disease.
A-T affects the cerebellum (the body's motor coordination control center) and also weakens the immune system in about 70% of the cases, leading to respiratory disorders and increased risk of cancer. It first appears in early childhood (the toddler stage) with symptoms such as lack of balance, slurred speech, and increased infections. Because all children at this age take time to develop good walking skills, coherent speech, and an effective immune system, it may be some years before A-T is properly diagnosed.
AT is caused by a defect in the ATM gene, which is responsible for recognizing and correcting errors in duplicating DNA when cells divide, and in destroying the cells when the errors can't be corrected. The protein normally repairs double-stranded DNA breaks
Ataxia-telangiectasia like disorder (ATLD) is an extremely rare condition that could be considered in the differential diagnosis of A-T. ATLD patients are very similar to A-T patients in showing a progressive cerebellar ataxia, hypersensitivity to ionising radiation and genomic instability.
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