CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – A Christiansburg family is on a journey to help get their four-year-old daughter a life-saving medical service dog.
Molly Cromer is a fun-loving little girl who loves her family and her many animals. A few days after she was born, Molly was diagnosed with Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD). This is an inherited disorder that prevents her body from breaking down certain fats and converting them into energy. As a result, the level of sugar in her blood can drop dangerously low. If left untreated, hypoglycemia caused by MCADD can lead to seizures, breathing difficulties, coma, brain damage, and even death.
“If she gets a cold or a fever or a stomach bug we usually end up in the hospital. We have done a lot of hospital stays. We usually do two or three nights there,” said Molly’s mom, Heather.
Because of MCADD, Molly is not able to attend school or church, she’s never participated in sports and she has had very few play dates with friends. Her mom is hoping to change all of that with help from 4 Paws for Ability.
4 Paws for Ability specially trains glucose detection dogs that have the ability to detect when blood sugars are dropping and will signal to their owner that they are in danger. These dogs will retrieve medication and glucose supplements for their owner.
“They’re training their dogs based on her specific scent. So when she starts to get into a metabolic crisis or her blood sugar gets to a certain level where it’s not keeping the energy up in her body. We will send in samples to them and they will train the dog based on her,” said Heather.
In order to get a medical service dog, the family needs to raise $17,000. Molly’s family hopes to raise awareness for MCADD and medical service dogs through fundraising.
If you would like to donate or learn more about Molly, you can check out her Facebook group or donate directly.