Movement Monitors for Epilepsy Patients in Need

It is time for another update from The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation on this project.  We are so grateful for your support of this very important project. Monitors save lives - we hear it every day!!!

To date, we have provided 353 life-saving movement monitors.  Our demand is huge as when families learn these are available, they are desperate to get a decent night sleep by having these lines of defense in place.  It is hard to keep up with the requests.  We work tiredlessly to be able to support these families.  The stories we hear and the feedback we receive is amazing.

"The CHF is an amazing foundation!!  We are so grateful for their help in getting our daughter a seizure monitor.  No family should have to lose their child to SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) and thanks to CHF, more and more families are decreasing the chances because of the seizure monitors they are purchasing for families.  We will forever be grateful to CHF!"  Heather L.

"The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation connected my son Connor Doran with support for his Epilepsy. They sponsored him so we could afford a Smart Monitor and have helped him become independent and confident! We have now connected many other people with CHF to get them the support and help they need to live a full and safer life."  Dare To Dream, Amy and Connor, America's Got Talent Top 12 Indoor Kite Flier

Enjoy seeing the faces of our 2015-2015 monitor recipients.  You will see that epilepsy does not discriminate.  One in 26 will be diagnosed with epilepsy in their lifetime.  Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages - more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystropy and Parkinson's disease - combined.  Almost 500 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every day and, like Chelsea, it is estimated that up to 50,000 Americans die from seizures and seizure-related causes every year in the United States.

We have some exciting events coming up.  The Epilepsy Awareness Day at Elitches and the   Purple Duck Chase, both at Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO is June 4, 2016.  This event was inspired by Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland which takes place in November in Anaheim, CA.  Our hope is to be able to send families to participate in both events this year.  STOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP Awareness Walk/Run will take place in 10 locations across the United STates this September.  We'd love to see you at any of these events!

Thank you again for your continued support.  

It is time for another update from The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation on this project.  I can't tell you how much we appreciate your support of our work and you are truly making a difference in the lives of those who struggle.  We receive 10-15 requests a week for help and the support we receive from you helps us keep up with requests.  We currently have 25 requests in hand.

To date, we have provided over 330 life-saving movement monitors.  The photo shown is that of a SAMiAlert monitor in place.  Should this child experience unusual movement or a seizure during the night, the camera will record the episode and alarm this parents.  You can't even believe the peace this brings to a Mother, Father or caregiver.  It is hard to keep up with the requests.  We work tiredlessly to be able to support these families.  The stories we hear and the feedback we receive is amazing!  

"The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation has made a great impact on our life. By providing a sleep moment monitor for my son, it has given my son more independence. They are dedicated to raising awareness . Through the foundation we were given the opportunity to go Disneyland during the Epilepsy Awareness Day. We met so many people and now have life long friends all thanks to CHF."  April L. 

"This organization helped fund our SAMi alert system for my daughter with intractable epilepsy. We couldn't afford a system like this without this wonderful organization! After getting the system I was able to notify her doctor she was having hour long seizures during her sleep. Without this system we would have never known! Thanks so much Chelsea foundation!"  anonymous

"The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation has been wonderful with helping on advice for our son (9). They also were amazing with working a way for us to receive a SAMi video monitor. This has been an extreme help, not only did they assist with our costs involved, but more importantly helped with peace of mind and as parents we are able to sleep better at night, in the event our son has a seizure. We are greatful for their assistance in memory of their daughter. Thankful for all they do!  Annmarie L.

"This is a family-based foundation that was created after the loss of a beautiful girl (their daughter) named Chelsea. They have made it their mission and Chelsea's legacy to ensure no more lives are lost to SUDEP. During the time when I had recently given up my full-time employment (and bread-winner role in my household which made the medical bills that much more overwhelming) to care for our infant daughter with epilepsy, The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation subsidized the cost of Emfit, a movement monitor to detect seizures during my daughter's sleep. This not only took away from some financial stress, but provided an invaluable gift of peace of mind so I was able to sleep at night once again."   Juliann B.

February 8, 2016 was International Epilepsy Awareness Day and in honor of this date, we have been featuring individuals who have epilepsy and their journies.  Click here to read what this is like for some very special people!

We have some exciting events coming up.  Fly Me to the Moon is May 7th in Lone Tree, CO - our 7th Annual Spring Gala.  The 1st Annual Epilepsy Awareness Day at Elitch Gardens is June 4, 2016 in Denver, CO.  This event was inspired by Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disnleyland which takes place in November in Anaheim, CA.  Our hope is to be able to send families to participate in both events this year.  Details are coming together for our 7th Annual STOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP Awareness Walk/Run this September.  It is possible that we will have orchestrated STOMPS in 12 different locations across the United States.  We'd love to see you at any of these events!

Here are links to a few smaller projects we have on GlobalGiving that we thought you might be interested in.

A Seizure Response Service Dog for Zarek

A Seizure Response Service Dog for Chelsi

A Seizure Response Service Dog for Chelsea

Thank you again for your continued support.  

Chelsea’s good work for others with epilepsy is reaching new levels of serving others in closing out our fiscal year 2015!

Chelsea was born September 28, 1992 and brought more joy into our lives than we can express in words. At the age of 11, she began having occasional seizures, until one night, April 19, 2009, at the age of 16, Chelsea died very unexpectedly after having a seizure in her sleep. The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation was created in loving memory of our precious daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend, Chelsea Alice Hutchison. Chelsea touched many lives and we are amazed at how many people through the foundation she continues to touch even after her passing. Through your generous giving and support of our ongoing work Chelsea’s care for others lives on.

Her generous heart longed to see love and care to 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 seizure-response dogs and epilepsy monitors for those in need, educate the public about SUDEP, and provide support to those who have been affected by SUDEP.

The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation exists to raise awareness of SUDEP and use it to grant comfort, hope and positivity to individuals and families living with epilepsy.

In 2015 so far, we have provided 59 life-saving monitors to families and individuals with epilepsy in 2015 – 319 have been provided to date!

We empowered thousands of people with new knowledge about the impact of SUDEP and the importance of learning ways to prevent sudden death.

Yet new opportunities abound. We cannot respond to all needs for trained dogs in the affirmative.

We are building strong new organizational capacity plans through volunteer strategists. We are growing the capacity too of our website to inform and train more in this good cause which saves lives. We are confident we can do more as more and more people engage in this important life-saving cause.

We need your help!

Please join us in this cause which changes and saves lives.

We would not be reaching all of those we are reaching today if it were not for you. Because of your advocacy, time, sharing, care and gifts, no matter the size, we have, and will, continue to make a difference in the lives of individuals and families to raise awareness of SUDEP and use these gifts to grant comfort, hope and positivity to individuals and families living with epilepsy.

On behalf of millions of men, women, and children around the world, who live with epilepsy, and who need our ongoing help through our direct mission, we thank you for your faithful advocacy for this cause and your generous support.

Your year-end gift for 2015 is tax deductible.  

To a great 2016!

Busy times here at Chelsea Hutchison Foundation.  As we begin November, we are finalizing (10) STOMP Out Epilepsy and SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) Awareness Walks across the country.  You can imagine all of the paperwork that goes along with this and it is a big task for a small volunteer staff.  

We are gearing up for Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland 2015 to which we have awarded 8 famlies with all-expense paid vacations to attend. We will also be providing approx. 25 one day passes for local Californians who live with the stresses of epilepsy to particpate.  Many of these families are single-parent families or one-income because of the care that is needed. 

Thanks to you and others like you, we have just provided our 315th life-saving movement monitor - that is 15 more since our last update in July.  We thank you for your support of this project because without your support and others like you, it would not be possible. We hear amazing stories from our grant recipients.

The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation also provides grants for seizure-response dogs.  To date, we have provided 83.  Our requests for help have grown significantly, we we appreciate those of you who support us. 

We have a few microprojects you may be interested in looking at.

Help McKenlee Get a Seizure-Response Dog

Help Ella Get a Seizure-Response Dog

Help Suzanne Get a Seizure-Response Dog

Help Justin Get a Seizure-Response Dog

Thank you for helping The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation continue with our mission, which is to grant comfort and hope to those affected by epilepsy through providing monitoring resources, vital information, and a safe haven for conversation and community.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update and learn all that The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation has going on.

We are proud to announce that we have now provided over 300 life-saving monitors across the United States.  We've even ventured into Canada and into Australia on a few occasions.  In addition, we just paid our 77th seizure-response dog grant.