- Pin it
- SubscribeUnsubscribe
- Embed
Ride To Give hasn't added a story.
On August 24, 2007, Spenser and Mallory Jo Johnson of Oklahoma welcomed a beautiful baby girl Zoey into their family, who seemed perfect in every way and became the light of their lives. She was a very good baby, eating well, sleeping through the night after 2 weeks, and extremely happy. However at 3 months of age, on November 29, 2007, the Johnson’s had a night that forever changed their lives.
At around 1 A.M. the Johnson’s woke up to a faint scream coming from Zoey’s bassinet. She seemed perfectly fine, so they laid Zoey on their bed to change her diaper before going back to sleep, when something very strange happened. Zoey’s head and eyes locked to the left and she had her first grand mal seizure. Spenser watched Zoey as Mallory frantically called 911. Before Mallory got off the phone it seemed the paramedics and police were at their house for the first of many emergency room visits. They immediately began searching for a pediatric neurologist to diagnose what was happening to their child.
Sadly, Zoey’s seizures continued to worsen. She began having thousands of myoclonic jerks a day (approximately 100 every 15 minutes), as well as more frequent grand mal seizures, sometimes multiple times a week. During some of those seizures Zoey actually stopped breathing. Several MRIs, EEGs, CAT scans and other tests were run in efforts to find any kind of solution. They tried numerous medications and combinations of medications, as well as the Ketogenic diet. Some of these showed promising results, but nevertheless the seizures continued as did the testing.
After three and a half years and dozens of tests, Zoey was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome on June 23, 2011. Dravet Syndrome is a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy, of which there is no cure. Constant changes in seizures types, as well as behavioral issues, developmental delays, respiratory concerns, and numerous other issues are to be expected. So far, approximately only 600 cases in the world have been reported, Zoey being one.
Zoey was on a combination of ten medications, including anti-convulsion medications, vitamins, and treatment for her respiratory condition. None of these seemed to help her so in 2014, Zoey and Mallory moved to Colorado in order to access cannabis oil. Zoey has had a huge reduction in seizures since starting cannabis oil (Haleigh’s Hope, named after our amazing little friend, Haleigh) but sadly is still seizing daily.
Despite all that Zoey goes through, she continues to be an amazingly happy and brave little girl who loves to sing, dance, read books, watch Elmo, and interact with EVERYONE! She pushes everyday to learn as much as she can with the help of music, speech, physical, and occupational therapies. There hasn’t been a single person that Zoey has ever come in contact with that she doesn’t love and encourage to play with her. She is the bravest, happiest, most loving child and her parents want to give her the best life she can have in spite of Dravet Syndrome.
After having the opportunity to spend time with Hope for Haleigh's seizure dog Kala, and having witnessed her alert to Zoey’s seizures, Mallory came to the conclusion that it would be beneficial for Zoey to have a dog of her own. Due to Zoey’s age, her allergens and her respiratory issues, the trainer suggested she get a hypoallergenic breed that comes from a long line of service dogs. Although it is something their family debated on for quite some time, due to it being an added expense, there have been times that even though someone is always with Zoey, seizures can still be missed. It just takes one to take her life. With the help of a seizure alert dog and the proper training, that is less likely a chance! On July 14th 2015, Ginger the Goldendoodle came to live with Zoey. She is still a sweet little fluff ball of a puppy, but the bond was obvious from the beginning. What the Johnson’s need now is help funding the formal training that Ginger needs to become the perfect seizure alert dog.
Ride to Give wants to offer the Johnson’s some peace of mind and pay for Ginger’s training but we need your help to do so. Please donate and follow Zoey on Facebook here.
Contributions are solicited with the understanding that the donee organization (Ride to Give) has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds. Questions about how your donation is used can be answered by clicking here.
Highlights
See all activity483Activity
Delete media item?
Delete this item from the media gallery? It will also be deleted from any related story update.
Set as ?
The campaign video will appear in social media and email.
The campaign cover picture will appear in social media and email.
The will appear at the top of your campaign page and in social media and email.
Reset ?
It will be removed from the top of your campaign and won't be used as default in social media and email. The will remain in the media gallery.
Embed
Share a link
Delete update
Delete this story update?
Any pictures or videos will remain in the campaign's media gallery.
Report campaign
Report submitted
Thank you. We take reports like yours very seriously. Our goal is to keep the community safe.
Please know that we may contact you for more information, but that we won't notify you personally of our decision. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Thank you. We've already received your previous report. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Tell us about the problem. Please fill in both fields below.
Record a video
Upload a video
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Take a minute or two to record one now. Record a short video message of support. Or upload one from your device. You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Upload a short video message of support. Upload a short video message of support. Or record one right now.
- Most effective video length: about a minute.
- Maximum length: 5 min.
- You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Heads up! The existing video will be replaced.
Email your friends
Join our team
Tell people why our cause matters to you. Your personal message will encourage others to help. Easy, effective, optional.
Say it in video
Short personal videos by supporters like you are incredibly powerful. Record one right now and you'll help us raise more money. Easy, optional, effective.
Add a personal goal
Set a personal fundraising goal. You'll encourage more contributions if you do. And rest easy. There's no obligation to achieve your goal or bad consequences if you don't. Easy, optional, effective.
We have a video!
Video thumbnail
We'd love to show you our campaign video. Want to take a look?
, you're already on the team.