We love our Mattie! If you know Mattie, you know that she loves to run, jump, and be a crazy goofball. Mattie was born early and diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 2. She has worked so hard to overcome the challenges that life has thrown her way and she does it with a smile on her face! Shortly after her diagnosis, Mattie was diagnosed with Von Willebrand Disease, a bleeding disorder, which results in a lot of bruising when she falls (not a great combo). We discovered in 2023 that Mattie had a tumor that was tethering her lower spine, tethered cord syndrome. Our brave girl underwent surgery to remove the tumor and de-tether her spinal cord. She has recovered with such grace and joy. Mattie is now a part-time wheelchair user, sparkly pink of course! As she gets older and grows, she experiences balance issues, strength, and pain issues, mostly in her legs.
We started to look into the possibility of a service dog for Mattie to assist her with her balance issues and emotional and sensory needs as she grows. We have been blessed by a wonderful breeder, who felt the Lord moving her to bless us with a puppy! We are so thankful for her and for the Lord moving in such a way! The puppy will be ready to come home on 3/18 and at 5 months, she will begin training to be Mattie’s service dog. We are trying to raise funds for the costs of preparing for this blessing and her training. We have a wonderful trainer, K9 Companions Nashville, who is amazing and experienced in training service dogs.
We will be doing a bake and art sale as well in the future once Mattie has recovered from her latest surgery. If anyone feels moved to help us with this, we would be so grateful. If you are unable to help financially, we would love your support through prayer and encouragement!