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A 6-year-old Michigan boy with type 1 diabetes surpassed his $ 20,000 fundraising goal after his pumpkin effort to raise money for an assistance dog became viral.
Ian Unger, a kindergarten student at McNaughton Elementary School, needs constant monitoring of his insulin levels and was told he could no longer take the bus without help, WZZM reported.
According to Katrina Christensen, Ian's mother, the family's request for help was rejected. The district therefore decided to put him "on an empty bus and take him to school after the start of classes".
Christensen said his son was devastated by the inability to take the bus with his friends. The family has therefore developed a plan to make their Ian an assistance dog that can serve as a companion and alert him to emergencies.
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"A diabetic assistance dog warns the person of his blood sugar about 45 minutes before your blood glucose appears on the meter," Christensen told the newspaper.
But the average wait time for a diabetic assistance dog is about 6 months to a year, the costs usually being determined by the needs of the patient.
To move the process forward, Christensen took Ian's mission to Facebook and organized a pumpkin fundraiser for $ 5. She told Ian that a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes was diagnosed just a week before he was four, when he started saying his words and was barely able to stand. He was rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care unit, where doctors discovered that he was suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which could lead to diabetic coma.
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In patients with type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, the hormone that the body needs to get blood glucose into the body's cells. About 1.25 million Americans have type 1 diabetes and about 40,000 people will receive a new diagnosis each year. According to the American Diabetes Association, through insulin therapy and other treatments, patients, including young children, can learn to manage their condition and live longer.
Christensen said Ian was adjusting his condition with injections, an insulin pump and a 24-hour blood glucose meter.
Ian quickly ran out of pumpkins, but the funds continue to flow. As of Monday night, 621 people donated $ 22,196, reaching the threshold in less than three days.
Samuel Chamberlain of Fox News contributed to this report.
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