2012-0192
Title
Proclamation: "Jeremiah's Diabetic Alert Dog Day"
Body
P R O C L A M A T I O N
WHEREAS, Jeremiah Gerlach was born on August 22, 2003, to Brandon and Jacque Gerlach, of Destrehan, where he lives with his parents and sister, Shiloh, and brother, Levi; and,
WHEREAS, on July 17, 2006, at the age of 3, Jeremiah was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, an autoimmune disease where his pancreas no longer produces insulin; and,
WHEREAS, Jeremiah has now had Type 1 Diabetes for almost 5 years, checks his blood sugar at least 10 times a day, and wears an insulin pump; and,
WHEREAS, Jeremiah inserts a new insulin pump by catheter under his skin every 3 days to give himself insulin; and,
WHEREAS, Jeremiah can have unexpected highs because of growth spurts, sickness, stress, or pump malfunctions; and,
WHEREAS, even more dangerous, Jeremiah can have serious lows that he does not always feel and can get very lethargic, have color changes, and can pass out; and,
WHEREAS, these changes most frequently happen at night, which means his mom wakes up every night, twice a night, to check his blood sugar and makes sure he is still okay; and,
WHEREAS, blood sugar fluctuations can cause organ failure, diabetic retinopathy, amputation, seizures, and even death; and,
WHEREAS, Type 1 Diabetes cannot be prevented and it never goes away; and,
WHEREAS, Jeremiah's family has recently found a new tool to help manage Jeremiah's diabetes: a Diabetic Alert Dog through Warren Retrievers; and,
WHEREAS, it is a very expensive process of at least $20,000 but the family is fully confident that it will make Jeremiah's life much better; and,
WHEREAS, this dog will be able to smell Jeremiah's blood sugar and know if it is high or low and alert him to that, and it will sleep with Jeremiah and be trained to wake him up, and his parents, if he is in trouble; and,
WHEREAS, a Diabetic Alert Dog can prevent the consequences of blood sugar fluctuations and once fully train...
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