Jacob's Journey with Mitochondrial Disease (Kearns-Sayre Syndrome) and Autism: June 2013

I watched a video today about a girl who made a video for her high school project about her brother that has mitochondrial disease (mito) and it made me teary, of course. But it was such a great example as to what mito really is! So I thought I would do my own little version of that. This is mito through Jakes eyes. I have so many more pictures I could of put on here, but I think this is good enough. This kid has been through SO MUCH! I cant even begin to say how much getting this service dog will help him. I hope by looking at some of what Jacob has to deal with on an every day basis, you will understand...just a little bit..what it is like to live with this horrible disease! And what it is like for us, as his family, to watch him suffer and not have a lot to help him with. This is a big reason why we need a service dog for Jacob. This dog will help in SO MANY WAYS! This will give Jacob the chance to have a "normal" life and not have to rely on mom and dad 24/7. This will give Jacob the friend that he so desperately craves! This will give mom and dad the piece of mind that he is being watched over. It will help us sleep better. It will help HIM sleep better. When we go to the hospital, it will help Jacob not get so anxious. When we are in places with a lot of people where Jacob normally would have meltdowns, she will help him be calm. All of this is so important to us. Getting this sweet dog means so much. More than anyone knows.

And this is mito through Jakes eyes...

This is when we first started to notice things...his droopy eyelids! This is right before his very first surgery.