#Paws4Molly

Good day everyone, This is not a review, this is not a giveaway, it's not even a media announcement, this is a plea from the bottom of my heart to obtain help with something that I think is very important.  Something I believe will change the world for one family.  But most importantly, I believe this will change the world for one beautiful little girl.  All I'm asking from you today is to open up your hearts and read this post in it's entirety.  If you donate to this family or not it will not have any effect on myself whatsoever.  From the bottom of my heart I hope that as a world destined for greatness, as communities trying to do better things for the world and for each other, I pray that you will check your finances and see if you might be able to help, even a little bit.  Please feel free to email me if you'd like to help or the many options available throughout this post.  Thank you in advance.  (If you follow one of my other websites the rest is the same).....

As most of you know, the Military community is a large part of my life, how could it not be.  Although I am one of those "strong" women who likes to do it on my own; you say strong, I say crazy.  I don't ask for help, I stand on the sidelines and cheer everyone else on because I know what it's like and it's not a burden we should bare alone.  I do what I can to help those close, and afar.  Whether it's a quick text to my friend in NS to say "how are you doing?"  Or a Facebook message to say "I know you can do this, You're an amazing woman!"  Anything to boost the level of esteem and get them back on the positive track.  That's where we all belong and should be.  All the while I remain my best support for myself as well.  No one really understands, I've said it many times before and will many times again I'm sure.  Well, this is my 9 or 10th deployment, I found out recently that a deployment is any time away that is more than 29 days, whether it's training or being gone off to war.  So, wow, I've done this at least nine times on my own with four children.  I have struggled to help my children and guide them through the most difficult times of our lives so far.  It's hard to say it gets better, it gets easier.  It doesn't, it truly doesn't.  We just get stronger, and more resilient.  There is no part of this life that is easy.

  So, with Sailor G being gone once more, deployed for almost 6 months, I spend a lot more time browsing the Military Facebook pages to see "who needs my help today"... of course these people don't really NEED me, I'm sure my little encouraging words aren't changing the world, but they are making someone's day brighter and that is more wonderful than anything in the world.  When I am feeling alone and low, that is the time that I really enjoy reaching out to help others. I makes me feel awesome, gives me something to do other than worrying about my husband's ship, what he's doing, where he is, if he's okay.... the thoughts go on and on.  I decided to check out the page for my local ladies last week and to my surprise there was a fundraiser, I like fundraisers I really love to help people obtain their goals.  But we are not well off people, as you know, we are like everyone else just scrapping the bottom of the barrel hoping to make it through the month without going further in debt.  Sadly (but not sadly), I am an impulsive person when it comes to helping others.  There is a page on Facebook, I encourage you all to "like" it, please like it.  It's called Paws4Molly Molly is the cutest little girl.  There are so many fundraisers going on right now for this little girl.  So many fundraisers because this little girl needs a Service Dog, do you know how much a Service Dog costs?  $18,000 is what this family needs to get this little girl the dog that she desperately needs.  If you have ever met a Military Family then you know they move around a lot, they have a lot of special qualities on a regular day, but then there is Molly.  I have never met this little girl in person.  I have met her neighbor, her neighbor who posted a "free sandbox" on Facebook. Her neighbor is running an online Auction and it's going to be fantastic from what I've heard the prizes are so far.  I have tried to contact as many local people that I can think of who have a product or service they my be willing to provide for this auction.  If you're reading this and you own your own business, would you consider donating please?  If you have an online store maybe you could donate a gift certificate?  Anything helps.

Maybe you don't have an online store, or physical store, maybe you're just someone with a big heart that has an extra $5 they can spare??  Any little bit helps, I do not know how much has been saved so far for this Service Dog, I know they have a gofundme account, I also know those take away from the donated money, which I don't think is right.  You're donating $10 to a cause you're whole $10 so go to that cause, but that's another rant for another time.  This post is all about Molly and her family's need to raise $18,000.
  Did you know that if three thousand six hundred people all donated just $5 they would have that goal.  Did you know that is the population of a little hamlet?  Not a lot of people need to donate to reach this goal.  Even a small town donating just $1 would reach their goal, but since there is now little village of 18,000 people standing in line to donate $1 maybe we all could donate some.  Please consider donating to this fund.  If you had any extra money to spare wouldn't you want it to go to helping a very beautiful little girl?   I donated $50 the day I picked up my "free sandbox" and I didn't even need a sandbox, I mean I need a sandbox but could have gone without.  I'm very happy that I went in that day, I had only planned on giving $20 but, as I mentioned before, my impulse kicked in and I handed over a nice new $50 that I had been saving for the purchase of my miniature horse.  I know $50 is just a small amount in the larger picture of what this family needs (to us it's a huge amount hehe) but it helps Molly.  Every bit helps Molly; big or small.  These are the days that I wish I could just win the lottery and have some money in the bank to donate to things like this.

Raising a Military family is difficult enough but to have a child who needs stability while traveling across the country, across the world even, that has got to be tough on this family.  I can't even imagine how it must feel for Molly when she's a little older, to pick up and leave everything that is comfortable.  This little girl needs something to love, that will love her back, other than her family.  I have heard so many great things about service dogs and believe they work wonders for people who need them.  There is a little girl right now, in my neighborhood, in my Military Family, who needs this more than anything.  Right now she needs to have the comfort, the strength to go through life knowing that this dog will always be there for her.

  These dogs are amazing companions, well trained to help ease the stress and provide comfort for their handlers.  Molly needs this dog.  #Paws4Molly is looking for donations today and you can help!  If you would like to donate to Molly's fund please do so, head over to their Facebook page and offer to donate today.  Go to the Online Auction next month and bid on some things (Good Luck) I will post about that when the time comes.  The gofundme page is also another way, if you would like to Donate through my website with your paypal or credit card that's available as well.  All funds sent to me will go to Molly's family to get them the Service Dog they dream of.  This is a goal, a selfless goal, this family has set to make their daughter's life better, to enable her to participate in life as she deserves to.  It's going to be a tough road for this little girl, not that it hasn't already been, and she deserves the love of a companion who is their FOR her as this dog will be.  These dogs are specially trained to do a job, and from what I have learned Molly would benefit greatly from the blessings of being able to have one of these dogs in her life.  Please help if you can.

I want to leave you with a letter that Molly's Mom wrote to me when I asked for a little background on this little girl....  Thank you and God Bless each and every one of you.....

"Hi Sally,
I’ll tell you a bit about Molly and if there’s anything missing that you wanted to know about her, please feel free to ask.
Molly was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome and hypotonia (low muscle tone).  She had a lot of feeding difficulties from the start, and on her first day of life, they had to insert an NG (nasogastric) tube to ensure she was consuming enough milk.  We’d try nursing or bottle feeding, but she just couldn’t do it.  She spent her first 16 days in the NICU, and that is where my husband and I learned how to feed her via her NG tube.
We brought her home and within weeks, she was also diagnosed with reflux for which she was put on medication.  She remains on that medication to this day.  Having the NG tube on her face was very inconvenient for her (and us) and it delayed her physical development.  We also blamed the NG tube for the daily bouts of projectile vomiting she had.
She started speaking around 13 months old.  Her first (and only) word, was Ma-ma-ma.  I loved it.  She started sitting up unassisted at 14 months old.  At 17 months old, she had surgery for her G-tube, which she still has to this day.  Unfortunately, the daily projectile vomiting did not go away once the NG tube was gone, so I started searching for a solution.  I found one, in the form of a blended diet.  At 23 months of age, we transitioned Molly to a blended diet of ‘real’ food.  It changed her life (and ours).  Her projectile vomiting went away the very day we took her off of formula, and it has never returned.  Molly is now fed four times a day via her G-tube.  She gets the same food as we eat, except I blend it first in our blender, then pour it through a strainer to ensure there are no lumps that could clog her G-tube.  She cannot eat anything by mouth.  It causes her reflux to act up, and we believe she also dislikes the textures in her mouth.
Around the time of Molly’s G-tube surgery, I realized she had stopped saying Ma-ma-ma.  She also spent a lot of time staring up at lights and flapping her hands in the air.  She had also stopped making eye contact.  I brought up my concerns with our pediatrician.  I told her that I felt Molly was showing signs of autism.  We were in a ‘watch and wait’ pattern for a while, but finally this past January, Molly received her official diagnosis of autism.
As a military family, we know we are going to be moving around a lot, and it is going to be very stressful for Molly and us each time we have to move to a new place and start her at a new school and train them on her feeding and all of her needs.  A service dog is going to be a constant companion to Molly.  The dog will be allowed access to all public places, be it her school, her doctor’s office or hospital visits.  It will be wonderful for her to have this constant friend at her side each time she has to start at a new school.  Her dog will be trained to do things such as pressing the button on the exterior of a building to open it and acting as a barrier between her and the public if she gets stressed.  The dog will also be trained to sense when she is getting upset and will place firm but gentle pressure on her legs to calm her, as pressure is very calming to Molly."

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