Raeford 2-year-old battling seizures in need of service dog
RAEFORD, N.C. (WTVD) -- A two-year old boy battling epilepsy and a viral brain disease is in need of a potentially life-saving service dog.
His name is Tucker Forster, he loves superheroes, and he's pretty strong himself. His mom, Jennifer Forster, says Tucker can have more than a dozen seizures a day, many of which you can't even see.
Jennifer said she thought Tucker was doing well when he went 13 months without any signs of a seizure.
"One week exactly later he had a massive convulsive seizure," Jennifer said.
Jennifer says it's been a long road since that seizure, including 5 MRIs, a spinal tap, and a brain biopsy. After all the tests, the family found out the virus they thought they beat had come back.
"Now he has two more sections of his brain that are damaged and his neurologist said he will never come off of seizure meds," she said.
She says he's lost a lot of mobility on the right side of his body and most of his ability to communicate using words. Jennifer said the worst part, though, is not being able to see 90 percent of the seizures Tucker experiences.
"He was having 45 minute seizures every 15 minutes and he was acting like you were just playing with him," Jennifer said.
She says he needs medication for any seizure lasting longer than 3 minutes. Any seizures that last longer than 10 minutes can be deadly, which is something she's reminded of every time she puts Tucker to bed.
"My biggest fear is that I'm going to go to bed, and I'm going to wake up and he's not going to be here anymore," Jennifer said.
Jennifer says a service dog could potentially save Tucker's life by monitoring him while he sleeps, alerting her if he has a seizure.
She says their family started saving up when Tucker first got sick, but when he got worse, Jennifer said, she had to quit her job to take care of Tucker, even though medical bills and expenses started adding up.
Now, the family is hoping to raise funds to pay those bills and buy the dog that could save her son's life.
The family is asking for help, and they still need over $10,000 to reach their goal.
You can help them by donating to their cause here.
