My name is Carlie Roberson and I have had diabetes for 6 years. I was diagnosed on September 26th 2002. Last February I was put into the hospital with moderate DKA. I did not know where I was or that I was even sick. I had to stay in the hospital for about 3 days and then I was allowed to come home. Right after I came home we saw a special report on the news about a medical alert dog that was trained to help diabetics know when their blood sugars were too low. I wanted a dog so bad!! I did not care what it took to get it, I was willing to do anything. I was not able to feel all of my low blood sugars anymore and it worried me and my parents. We looked on the internet and found the company that we thought could help us and filled out the application. When we sent it to HSP we found out that they had a long waiting list. It was a little depressing to know that it may take years to get in the class and get a dog to help me. I prayed and so did my parents. We had a call in about 2 hours and Michele told my mom that there was room for me in the September class of 2007. We started to try to raise the money needed for the class. I did a bake sale, sold donuts, sold raffle tickets for a brand new tree stand that was given to me, and many other things. We raised a lot of money but it was not enough. I told my preacher and he told me not to worry about it. Michele called my mom and told her that she wanted to bump us up to the July class. I was very excited, but my mom was worried because we had not raised all the money yet. Seven days before we left for the class in Missouri, our church took up a special offering for me and it was the exact amount that we needed to go.

    We left for Missouri on Saturday and I was given Cleo on that next Monday. Cleo started to alert on me by the second day we had her and she has gotten better every day. The class was long and made me very tired. We did a lot of training, but it was worth all that we did. The hardest thing was being away from my family and my friends.

    Cleo alerts on my lows and my highs. She alerts when I am on a skating rink, in a swimming pool, and while I am playing softball, even when I am out in the out field, she can tell that my blood sugar is low. Cleo has saved my life so many times that I can not even keep count anymore. I have lows everyday and I would not be here today if it were not for her. I can't tell when my blood sugars are low anymore and she can.

    I owe a very special thank you to HSP for all their dedication and their hard work. I am so very thankful that they have had the desire to help others. Now I am able to live healthier and happier.

• Carlie

A Mothers Story

On September 26th of 2002, we went to see the Pediatrician. We found out that Carlie's Blood sugar was around 375. We were rushed to the Children's Hospital of Atlanta. We stayed in the ER for several hours and was about to be sent home because her blood sugar came down to 175. The doctor said "first before you send her home lets do a small juice test" They had Carlie drink a 4 oz juice and took her blood sugar in one hour---That was not good. Her blood sugar was about to top 500. Carlie was admitted and then diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

    We stayed in the hospital for about three days and the sent home with a plan of action to take care of her. I remember crying all the way home. I knew in my heart that there was no way that I was going to be able to take care of her, not the proper way and that in the near future I would probably kill her, on accident of course. The Lord knew the mistakes that I would make and he was gracious enough to cover them. I am glad to report that Carlie is alive and well.

    Last February Carlie got a virus and it sent her to the hospital. It was a simple virus and I thought that it would pass. I treated her symptoms, which were very few. One morning she got up and her blood sugars were very high, I gave her some more insulin and I told her that she should drink plenty of water. I checked her blood sugar again and it was a little higher than earlier. She began to complain about her pulse racing and her having a hard time to breathe. Her blood sugars were even higher than before. I gave even more insulin and waited for it to work. She vomited yet again and kept on doing so. In the course of about 4 hours she vomited several times and her blood sugar was still rising. I had given insulin and then extra insulin. Nothing seem to be working. The Dr. suggested that we go to the hospital and receive a bag of fluids and possibly stay over night if they thought necessary. Our trip to the ER went to a rushed ambulance ride to Emory with an insulin drip and a little girl who by this time did not even know where she was, much less who she was.

    Carlie stayed in the hospital for several days and was released. While we were there we went through times when Carlie was not aware of where she was and others when she did but was not sure she cared. It was very scary to see her so sick and to know that it could happen again so fast was even scarier.

    We came home and she recovered well. While we were in the living room watching TV one evening we ran across a special report of a company that trained dogs to alert to a diabetic low and a high. These events were alerted on well before the event happened. I filled out the application and submitted it. I then found out that there was a four year waiting period. My hopes were all but shattered. I prayed that if it was meant to be then there would be room made for us. In about two hours we had a phone call saying that we were accepted into the program. Heaven Scent Paws had accepted us and they had placed us in a class in July. We would have a service dog for our daughter in 5 months!!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!


    Carlie and Cleo were united and began their training. They have made a wonderful team and I will always be grateful to Michele and the company she created....Heaven Scent Paws. Cleo has alerted to all of Carlie's lows and most of her high blood sugars. She has saved her life more times than I can count. She can now live healthier and happier than she would have been able to before getting Cleo.

• Kim, Carlie's Mom