People in Pasco County came together Saturday to raise money at several fundraisers held to help a boy struggling with diabetes.
Tyler looks and acts like any other 5-year-old, but he’s not like the other kids his age.
“He’s been in and out of the hospital because he has chronic low blood sugar, chronic high blood sugar, when Tyler gets sick his blood sugar goes through the roof,” said Heather Smith, Tyler’s mother.
Tyler has juvenile diabetes.
The disease really came to a head last year when his 7-year-old brother found him in the middle of a massive seizure.
“Since his brother found him that morning his brother hasn’t slept restfully and either has anyone in the family," said Smith. "The whole family is affected by this.”
Insurance won’t cover a glucose monitor so Priority Health’s Randy Shuck said the service dog Tyler’s family is trying to raise money to buy will help.
“Of course you know dogs can pick up smell very well so they're able to pick up the different scents of the child if they're trained appropriately the dog is probably more accurate than a machine is to be able to tell if the child is too high or too low,” said Dr. Shuck.
The dog Tyler needs costs about $10,000.
The money raised for a service dog is crucial if this little boy is going to live a normal life.
“I want him to live the best life that he can live and the most normal life that he can live,” said Smith.
Smith hoped to raise about $2,000 during Saturday’s events.
It’ll take about seven to eight months to get the service dog.