Meet El.

“El was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis 1 Microdeletion at
the age of 2 years old. Since that time he has received years of Occupational therapy, speech
therapy, physical therapy, and special education services. El has an optic glioma which has
caused much vision loss in his left eye. He has several lesions on the brain which have
interfered with his development as well. El has a diagnosis of Anxiety and is currently taking
medication to get through the day. El has Tourrette’s syndrome and OCD, and is prescribed
medication for that as well.

What we do know is that El may have NF, but NF does not have him. We will continue to support and encourage El to live a full life, and be grateful for all we do have. El has a true love for animals and finds such comfort with them. When looking for ways to help El be as independent as possible, we realized that a service dog would be life changing for him. After speaking with his Neurologist, we contacted 4 paws 4 ability. They explained that a service dog can be trained to stop El from picking at himself when anxious. They could accompany El to his MRI’s and make those appointments less stressful on him. The dog could nudge El when he begans his high-pitched Tourrette’s syndrome shrieks. They could also assist if sadly, his vision continues to decline.”

El’s family spent over a year raising tens of thousands of dollars to be able to provide El with a service dog. B Kind stepped in and provided the remaining balance for El to get his service dog.