Physical Health United States Project #12369

Movement Monitors for Epilepsy Patients in Need

by Chelsea Hutchison Foundation

Movement Monitors for Epilepsy Patients in Need

Project Report | Aug 25, 2016
Update from The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation

By Julie L Hutchison | President, Co-Founder and Chelsea's Mother

We wanted to update you on this project. This is an ongoing project as we receive 10-15 requests a month from families who are desperate for a night's sleep. Since we started providing monitors to those in need in 2010, we have had the priviledge of providing 363 across the US, some in Canada and even one in Australia. We currently have eight families in line to receive them as funds arrive.

So many of our families are sleep deprived, afraid they might miss a loved one's seizure while sleeping. These monitors provide families with a line of defense in preventing SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) and allow for some sleep at night. Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages. 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.

"Without my SAMiAlert Monitor, my son may not even have his diagnosis. The symptoms we saw were too vague to call seizures. We suspected nocturnal seizures for a long time, but could not prove he was actually having them. When we finally learned about movement monitors, we obtained one immediately. After hooking it up, within a few days, we had several seizures recorded of various types."

"We knew our daughter was having a lot of seizures, so we were blessed with a monitor through The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation. We did not know until we received the monitor that she was having multiple seizures every night right around the same time."

We appreciate your support more than we can express in words! We have a few other Globalgiving projects we'd like to share with you.

Seizure-Response Service Dogs

Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland

Weighted Blankets

A Seizure-Response Service Dog for Zachary

A Seizure-Response Service Dog for Parker

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May 26, 2016
Update from The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation

By Julie Hutchison | President, Co-Founder and Chelsea's Mother

2015-16 Monitor Recipients

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.

2015-16 Monitor Recipients

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Feb 22, 2016
Update from The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation

By Julie Hutchison | President, Co-Founder and Chelsea's Mother

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.

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