By Julie Hutchison | President, Co-Founder and Chelsea's Mother
Chelsea was born into our lives on September 28, 1992. She brought more joy and love than we can express in words. She was a precious daughter, sister, niece, cousin, and friend. Chelsea was a light in the lives of many. At the age of 11, she began having occasional seizures. We were told how to manage these seizures, and Chelsea lived life to the fullest. At the age of 16, on the morning of April 9, 2009, we awoke to the nightmare that Chelsea had died unexpectedly after having a seizure in her sleep. Like many of the families we work with, we had no idea this danger existed.
We felt driven to help those living with epilepsy in the hopes that we could raise awareness of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (“SUDEP”) and help prevent families from going through what we did. Maybe you heard of the passing of Disney actor, Cameron Boyce, to SUDEP in July.
In our daughter’s memory, The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation strives to grant comfort, hope, and a community to individuals and families living with epilepsy. The funds raised are used to provide grants for seizure-response service dogs, life-saving movement monitors, and wish trips to Epilepsy Awareness Educational Expo and Day at Disneyland each year.
Celebrate with us! We have been lucky to empower thousands of people since we began.
To date, we have been blessed to provide almost 900 life-saving movement monitors to families affected by epilepsy. We also have been able to provide 124 grants for seizure-response dogs. In addition, through Chelsea’s Wish, we have been privileged to provide trips to 83 families for learning, education, and fun at Disneyland’s Epilepsy Awareness Day held each November. But the work is not over. As a matter of fact, with SUDEP being of national news after the passing of Cameron Boyce, the requests for assistance have dramatically increased.
We want you to know that you are appreciated. We would not be reaching all of those we have helped to date if it were not for you! Because of your advocacy, time, sharing, care, and gifts, we have and will continue to make a difference in many lives.
We have had an increase in visibility nationally, and because of that we have seen a large increase in the number of requests. We still provide as many grants and devices as we can and will continue to do so.
Your tax-deductible gift today will help us to provide trained seizure-response service dogs for individuals and families.
Sincerely and with great appreciation,
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