Meet Silvia, a devoted mother whose family’s life has been profoundly touched by Early Alert Canines. In her heartfelt story, Silvia shares the journey of how her son's Diabetic Alert Dog, named YoYo, has made an extraordinary difference in their daily lives, bringing hope, support, and independence. Her words offer a touching glimpse into the impact these incredible dogs have on the families they serve.
"Our family’s journey with diabetes started a little over 17 years ago", shares Nancy. "Matthew was 4 and we had no knowledge of or experience with diabetes. We knew you didn’t want it and that it was bad news if you had it. We had started to see signs
that something wasn’t right with Matthew, I mean with his health (the rest is a whole different story), but diabetes never crossed our minds! One of my most vivid memories of our diagnosis was that 1st night in the hospital. I watched my surprisingly strong 4-year-old having to be held down by multiple nurses as they approached him with a needle full of insulin. Tears streaming down my face, all I could think was, how will I do this at home while my husband is at work? I’ll never forget - the next morning, I was laying in Matt’s bed with him, and he looked at me and he said– don’t worry mama I’m going to be ok with all of this. Now that he could name it. Now that he knew there was a reason for what he had been feeling, that’s all he needed. And honestly, he never fought us when giving him insulin again. Unlike my beautifully resilient son, I was not yet “ok with it”. Now we have diabetes! I'm thinking what does this mean for his future? How was I going to keep him alive? How was I going to be Matt’s pancreas? Needless to say, to this group, we were in information overload & 17 years later, we’re still learning and the thing we’ve learned most clearly is that knowledge and support are the keys. Support has taken on many forms and the latest piece in that puzzle is why we are all here tonight!
You might have noticed that I said “Now, WE have diabetes". That’s the way we view it. It was hard to accept that my innocent little boy was now in for a life-long journey with diabetes, but with that realization as a family we vowed that he would never walk it alone – this would be our Family burden. AND He was going to do whatever he wanted in life and we, as his parents, would figure out how to make it happen! They say it takes a village, but we quickly realized that Matt was going to need a much bigger village. We started building Matt’s village in his large Cuban family, at school, extra circular activities, and sports teams, by teaching everyone about his diabetes. Our philosophy was - the more people that knew, the safer he was. As he grew, we encouraged him to do what he wanted - Matt put that to the test! He decided to play tackle football,
become a blacksmith, play a flying monkey strapped in a harness flying over a stage. At age 6 Matt took up water polo! A grueling sport of constant swimming and grabbing. A game which creates so much adrenaline that combined with the cold
water it masked his lows. Scary! But now we had team parents, coaches, players ready to help and forever part of his village.
Luckily, technology advanced and hello CGM!. It was a HUGE help and gave us extra peace of mind as Matt was now driving. This addition eased our worries quite a bit – especially during what my husband calls the Night Shift. It was one more item in our tool chest which let Matt live his life on his terms! Then, in the spirit of ‘you can do anything, we will figure it out’, Matt decided to go to college in Indiana! My mom heart
thought does it really have to be so far away? His village is here. But of course, it did, because Matt was just like any other 18-year-old. He just also happened to have diabetes. I knew having him go off to college would probably be one of the hardest things I’d ever do. But, I also knew he couldn’t live with me forever – could he? The fear of letting him go was real! Not because Matt couldn’t take care of himself, but because we know diabetes. And sometimes things just happen.
We know that in any one horrible instant, Matt could be gone. Would anyone know he needs a juice; Did they know how to administer glucagon? Will he sleep through his CGM and not wake up! Sometimes the feeling is almost debilitating, But we had never let diabetes stop him, so off to Indiana he went! Luckily, Matt lived in the dorms, and we learned that campus public safety could be in his room in under 3 minutes! His roommate and RA were on speed dial and now Matt’s village included an Indiana branch. We knew that someday Matt would be out in the world completely on his own. But we’ve still had four years for that, right? Right, Matthew? Nope! After Sophomore year Matt decides he wants to live in an apartment off campus. No more public
safety in case of emergency. We knew it was coming but as parents we were back to the ‘how am I going to be a pancreas’ kind of scared!
And at this very frightening moment, into Matt’s life comes the soft, black, fuzzy, adorable face of YoYo – known affectionately by his foster families as “The Toy Killer”!
Now, our search for a service dog had started when Matt was in middle school. We researched many organizations to realize most of them weren’t particularly reliable or honest. But one of Matt’s villagers told us about EAC. When EAC called Mat, he was now in college in Indiana – out of the state - but EAC took a leap with Matt. It was the best news we could’ve received.
Matt and Yoyo had an instant connection! Yoyo has been one of the most precious gifts we have ever received! Yes, I said we! He is Matt’s dog, but Yoyo is the next piece – the KEY piece to our village – not to mention the cutest addition. Yoyo helps Matt achieve his dreams, independence, and freedom with extra confidence and the nudge he sometimes needs to prioritize his health. Yoyo is our nose in Indiana, he has taken over where we had to leave off, he eases Matts burden – my burden! Yoyo’s strengths really aligned with Matt’s weaknesses. Matt is studying mechanical engineering. He gets very focused.
Matt can easily spend 2 hours on one engineering problem and not even hear his CGM beeping at him. He can get so engrossed, he may not be paying attention to his body, But you know who is – YOYO is – The MOST PERSISTANT - ALERTER EVER! Thankfully, Yoyo really LOVES cheerios! YOYO is always there to pull Matt out of his tunnel vision and help him balance health and life. They are a team! As a mom, Yoyo has given me the gift of breathing a little easier and worrying a little less because I know that Yoyo always has his eyes on my son. My husband knows he always has a partner during the night shift and when Matt’s CGM alerts in the middle of the night and we text him You on this low?” – we frequently get a picture of Yoyo’s adorable face staring up
as he alerts. Yoyo isn’t a machine. We know he’s not 100% perfect, but he is 100% perfect for Matt. Yoyo helps Matt stay on target, helps him even when Grumpy Matt doesn’t want to be helped. Matt's time in Range has improved by over 10%. This doesn’t
just benefit him now – it affects his future life. Tighter control can mean his future kids can enjoy their dad for a long time.
Yoyo’s gift to Matt is immeasurable. He loves Matthew unconditionally and deeply– well maybe not as deep if the cheerio bag is low. He cares for Matthew – mind, body and soul. Yoyo fulfills what we vowed so long ago he doesn’t let Matt walk this path alone and he helps us to stay true to our word that Matt can do anything he wants in life. Yoyo closes the circle! Yoyo is going to a university full of brilliant engineers. He is the smartest, most loved dog on that campus! He left sunny CA to snowy Indiana, he has learned to play disc golf, he goes to Musicals, wears special ear protection for his wind tunnel labs. And he looks exceptional in a bowtie! He just goes with the flow – if Matt’s doing it- then yoyo is all in!
Plus, it’s not only Yoyo he’s added to his village, Matt has added the EAC family. Carol, Beth, and Liz have educated Matt on his rights in this world and how to exercise them with tact, respect, confidence, kindness, and humor. They are 100% there for Matthew.
It’s not lost upon any of us, what it means for a young college student who is studying, playing intramural sports, caring for his body and disease, to now be responsible for another life that requires, bathing, brushing teeth, clipping nails, feeding. –I would like to say – yoyo and EAC- thanks because I think Matt may actually brush his own hair and teeth now!
Joking aside, EAC prepared Matt to do all these tasks to the level Yoyo requires and deserves. But they understand the emotional toll this can take on Matt, and how sometimes it can get to be a bit too much! They support his emotional and mental well-being. They know how to push independence while supporting him with dignity and laughter along the way! They aren’t just helping Matt with YOYO, they are helping US raise our son so he can live life to the fullest. We’ve been able to let go more, to sleep a little better than we have in the last 17 years, and to watch our son pursue his dreams with the most precious companion we never expected. I’m not sure EAC staff understands the depth of the impact THEY each have on families –it’s not just about the dogs! They are passionate in what they do and even more, they want to see my son succeed in life – almost as much as this mom does!
Yoyo we air pet you all of the time, we shriek with delight when you happen to walk near us and accidentally rub our leg, we would hug and squeeze you tight if we could! But a never-ending supply of toys and cheerios is all I can truly do. We can never fully express our gratitude to you. Not only for being the BEST teammate ever, but for loving Matt unconditionally, teaching him to prioritize himself, and along the way teaching him so many life skills that he has learned in the process of taking care of another living being. You have given us ALL the gift of allowing US to live more in the moment!
There is a naval term ‘You’ve got the CONN’ which means “you’ve got control of the ship, you’re in charge.” And every night when we go to sleep, my husband texts my son – YOYO – You’ve got the CONN! & I’d like to add, Yoyo we are eternally grateful."
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