Denver resident Quinn Niess is like most 8-year-olds — energetic, with an active imagination. Unlike most children, she has epilepsy, a neurological disorder that causes seizures with various symptoms. In the past, she has suffered up to 50 seizures in a single day.
The seizures don’t stop when she’s asleep, either. Like other people with epilepsy, Quinn is threatened by SUDEP — sudden unexpected death in epilepsy — a condition in which otherwise healthy people die, often as they sleep.
So Quinn has a bedtime sidekick — Cabby, a dog trained to alert Quinn’s mother, Brittany Wellington, if her daughter is having a seizure. The family purchased Cabby using a grant from the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps people obtain seizure-response dogs and monitors that detect seizures.
“We’re not the only ones looking out for (Quinn). Cabby is there too,” Wellington said. “She has been a buddy for Quinn, and she has been another piece of support.”
The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation was created by Doug and Julie Hutchison after their 16-year-old daughter Chelsea died from SUDEP. They weren’t aware of the phenomenon, Julie Hutchison said, and they hoped to minimize the risk for others.
“We knew we needed to do something in Chelsea’s name, but we didn’t know what it was,” Hutchison said. Chelsea loved dogs, so the family started off thinking they would do something with canines. After they learned about various monitoring devices for people with epilepsy, they decided the best way to honor Chelsea was to provide money to ensure monitors are accessible to everyone.
The foundation, which started in 2009, has provided grants to help purchase 101 seizure-response dogs and more than 420 movement monitors. Money comes from donations, including pledges made at STOMP, a fundraising walk held in September in Littleton and communities in Nebraska, Louisiana, California and Illinois, and the proceeds from weekly Bingo games in Aurora.
The seizure-response dogs and monitors provide a sense of peace for families who deal with epilepsy. Cabby is trained to place a paw on Quinn when she is having a seizure, Wellington said, and may even be able to sense when Quinn is about to suffer a seizure. One day, she said, Cabby paced back and forth relentlessly, refusing to lie down. The next day, Quinn had multiple seizures.
“Just her knowing Quinn and us knowing Cabby, she was off. She was weird, and we knew something was going to happen,” Wellington said.
The foundation works to provide whatever help it can to people who are living with epilepsy, Hutchison said.
“It is just a constant worry, especially for small children,” she said. “The parents are just on heightened alert nonstop. Anything we can do to give them some hope is what keeps us going.”
The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation also created a community for families fighting epilepsy. Quinn has made friends through it and her mother said Quinn is comforted knowing others share her struggles.
“We feel a real compassion for the families that are dealing with this,” Hutchison said. “The families are so stressed, and they think they are all alone, so we try to create a community.”
The monitors and seizure-response dogs provide some peace, “or a little extra sleep,” she said. “We think it is really important.”
Read more about the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation and how you can help provide a seizure response dog or monitor to someone in need: chelseahutchisonfoundation.org.