As we celebrate what would have been Chelsea's 26th Birthday, we are proud to announce that to date, in 2018 alone, we have had the privilege of providing 102 life-saving movement monitors. We could not do this without you. This brings our overall total to 612 since 2011.
"A few weeks ago, we received our SAMi Alert monitor. A huge thanks to the help your foundation provided. I wanted to take a moment to thank you again for helping us to secure this monitor. We knew this monitor could help us gain the peace of mind we were so desperate for but until we started using it, we didn’t know how much this would change our lives. Our daughter has really been struggling with gaining control of her seizures. She has Lennox Gastaut Syndrome and her seizures are frustratingly resistant to treatment. The first week we had the monitor, it recorded a very scary seizure episode that we were able to then take to our daughter’s neurologist and show her. She was extremely impressed with the monitor itself and I told her all about Chelsea and the amazing foundation started in her honor. This monitor not only helps us to sleep better at night, it also helps us dial in our daughter's epilepsy treatment program because instead of describing a seizure episode, I’m able to show her neurologist exactly what is happening. This has been so life changing for us."
Enjoy the faces of some of our most recent recipients. Epilepsy affects anyone at any time. Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages - more then multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease combined. Almost 500 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every day and it is estimated that up to 50,000 Americans die from seizures and seizure-related causes every year in the United States, yet most don't even know they are at risk.
Here are links to the different monitoring devices that we assist with.
Thank you again for your continued support.
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Thank you for your support of this ongoing project. We receive 10-15 requests a week for assistance with life-saving movement monitors so your support is appreciated more than words can express.
To date, we have had the privilege of providing over 560 monitors, with a stack of several to fill this week. Enjoy seeing the faces we've recently been able to help.
We are currently accepting nominations for our all-major expense paid trips for our families to participate in Epilepsy Awareness Day and Expo at Disneyland this November. Ten to 12 will learn if they have been selected on July 16th. Our trips are selected by randon drawing as it would be too difficult to select one recipient over another, they are all so deserving. If you are interested in knowing more about these life-changing trips, please go to our Chelsea's Wish facebook page and ask to join. If you are interested in donating to this project, please click here.
STOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP Awareness walk will take place in many locations across the United States. Visit our website for details and locations. This will be our 9th annual STOMP. If you aren't near any of our organized STOMPS and would like to participate, check out our virtual options.
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Greetings! We are so grateful for your support and wanted to show you some of Chelsea's good work. Your support means the world to us and to those we serve!
We thought you might enjoy seeing this darling video created by the sister of one of our recent recipients. Click here to meet Yalianna and Ethan.
Meet Matty, one of our most recent Monitor Recipients.
Maddy is an easy-going, pragmatic and "don't worry about a problem before you have it" kind of kid. That is how her Mom, Lisa, described her 16-year old daughter before their world changed in July of 2017 when she had her first seizure while away at a Young Life camp for teens.
At home Maddy's world had become a danger zone for her; as she was having more tonic clonic seizures. Every hard surface, counter, and everything in between would become a hazzard and it was hard to know when a seizure would strike. An ambulatory EEG was done that captured a seizure while Maddy was on FaceTime with a friend. When she came out of her seizure, she said her head felt huge and she was dizzy. It was at that moment that her family realized that she had been having seizures in the mornings and during sleep that they didn't know about. This is what set them on their journey to find monitoring devices and lead them to CHF.
They went to the neurologist the following morning. The EEG was reviewed and Maddy was diagnosed with Myoclonic Juvenile epilepsy. From there they began their medication journey one that would change their lives even more. Maddy, a straight A student began to have memory problems, was writing letters backwards and her personality was changing to where she didn't even recognize herself; this affected her deeply and caused great concern for her parents. In December, her medication was changed and things are much better now. Maddy's mood has stabilized and seizures have been kept at bay.
Maddy has been in competitive cheerleading for 10 years and most recently a varsity cheerleader for her high school. After having to give up so much, Maddy's parents decided she did not have to give up her love of cheerleading. Her high school teammates and coaches make sure she is safe and they have a seizure emergency plan in place for her. Cheering and competing with her team is the one place where Maddy, even for a few hours, can just be a regular teenage girl and not have to worry about her epilepsy. Maddy was recently awarded the Falcon Award by her coach. This is an award that is given to a team member who displays outstanding character, not only some of the time, but all the time. Whether on the mat, in the classroom or just every day, Maddy would simply show up each day with a smile and positive can-do attitude. Maddy wants others with Epilepsy to keep fighting, chase the fear and continue to do what makes their heart happy.
Maddy is a recipient of the Emfit MM and Smartwatch monitor by Smart-Monitor granted by CHF. Maddy's family loves the security and relief they feel having the Emfit MM at night and Smartwatch during the day when they can't be with her. They state it has given her some freedom and confidence back.
SAMiAlert Monitor, Night-time Monitoring Device
SAMi® is a sleep activity monitor for caregivers and individuals who need to watch carefully for unusual movements at night. During sleep, audio-video information from a remote infrared video camera is sent to an app that runs on an iOS device such as an iPhone or iPod Touch. The SAMi app records and analyzes the video for unusual activity. When an unusual event is detected, it sounds an alarm and records live audio and video from the SAMi network camera. Within seconds, the individual or caregiver can take any necessary action.
Recent Testimonials
"I am a RN and was searching... surfing... one nigh, desperate to find answers for our teenage son when the good Lord took me to “Chelsea”.......I had already emailed Domesti-PUPS without going back to their site...... then The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation (CHF) responded right back to me! I could not believe someone sooo busy took the time to respond and kept writing me. I learned more in a couple emails than I have in 4 years!! And then I saw CHF on Domesti-PUPS website!! The good Lord was moving all the pieces in place!! We are soooo grateful to CHF and Chelsea will now be in our hearts always and forever too....." (soon to be seizure-response service dog grant recipient).
"This foundation was built on tears and an abundance of love. It's more than apparent. The love and compassion they show from the second you write them is instantaneous. Thank you so much for all you have done for our family. I hope to be a huge part of this amazing organization. I never expected what I received and I'm in awe. From the bottom of our hearts thank you for the huge piece of mind you have given us." (recent monitor recipient)
Upcoming eventsCasino Royale Gala 2018 - Centennial, COEpilepsy Awareness Day at Elitch Gardens 2018 - Denver, COSTOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP - coming to 9 Locations across the United States in September 2018.The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation is a Colorado nonprofit corporation formed to provide help and support to individuals, particularly children and young adults, who have epilepsy. Chelsea touched many lives during her short 16 years here, and we are amazed at how many people she continues to touch through the foundation even after her passing. Her generous heart longed to see love and care come to others.
In her memory, The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation is designed to assist people living with epilepsy. Funds raised by this foundation provide grants for fully trained seizure-response dogs and for, what we believe to be, life-saving movement monitors to those in need. We educate the public about SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy) and provide support to those who have been affected by SUDEP. The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation exists to raise awareness of SUDEP and to grant comfort, hope, and positivity to individuals and families living with epilepsy.
To date, The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation has had the privilege of providing 107 seizure-response dog grants and has provided over 530 nighttime and daytime movement monitors for those in need. We have awarded 44 families with wish trips to the one-of-a-kind Epilepsy Awareness Expo and Day at Disneyland. The Expo offers a wealth of information and exposure to professionals, treatment options, education, and hope.
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We are excited to tell you about the progress we have made. The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation is receiving 10-15 requests a week for help and we have been able to keep up with those requests. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to bring a little peace to those who are so stressed, waiting for the next seizure to occur. Through you, and the kindness of those who support our mission, we are excited to let you know that we have now had the privilege of providing over 480 (what we believe to be) life-saving movement monitors across the United States. Enjoy the beautiful faces of some of our most recent recipients.
"Our monitor has already caught two seizures while we were asleep. I can never thank you enough!" Allison S.
In just a few short days, through Chelsea's Wish, we will be hosting 14 families from across the US at Epilepsy Awareness Expo and Day at Disneyland. These trips are life-changing for our families.
We made the news and wanted to share. Here is our story as told by CBS Denver, Foundation Pairs Girl, Goldendoodle Together To Help Manage Epilepsy. In addition, here is an article written by The Denver Post, How the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation is saving lives through dogs and monitors.
STOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP Awareness walks took place across the United States last month. It was a huge success for the Foundation as we stomped in Colorado, California, Nebraska, Illinois, Louisiana and West Virginia. We host Chelsea's Bingo twice a week in Aurora, Colorado to help fund our projects. It is a big commitment, but we will do what we need to to be able to grant comfort and hope those those who suffer from epilepsy.
Thank you for believing in us!
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