4 Paws For Kaiden Setty

We are so grateful that you've taken the time to read our story.  Kaiden has an exciting opportunity, he was approved for a mobility assistance and seizure alert service dog through 4 Paws for Ability.  

We brought Kaiden home from the NICU in October 2018 and fostered him until we adopted him in November 2020.  Kaiden had an extremely traumatic and rough start at birth, he went without oxygen to the brain for 5 minutes, from that he suffered stage 4 brain bleeds and hydrocephalus.  Kaiden has had 5 shunt surgeries in his life due to shunt malfunctions, and an infection in his cerebral spinal fluid.  At the age of 7 months Kaiden got the diagnosis of Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy from the brain bleeds and hydrocephalus at birth.  We were told that he would never be able to do anything for himself and would be wheelchair dependent for the rest of his life.  He has shocked all doctors with his tremendous progress, through lots and lots of therapy and his determination to not let anything stop him.  Kaiden is the strongest little boy we know, he's been through so much in his short little life, he never loses his smile and never gives up.  He goes to all his therapies and gives it his all.  In November 2020 Kaiden had his first seizure so he now has the diagnosis of epilepsy.  In 2020 he was also diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a Cognitive Impairment.  On Feburary 18, 2021 Kaiden had a life changing operation called a selective dorsal rhizotomy that removed the spasticity from Kaiden's legs that will give him a better chance at walking and living a more independent life.  He will have to go to daily therapy for 2 years post surgery to learn how to use his legs without spasticity.  As you can imagine Kaiden has a lot of appointments and hospital stays, and having a service dog there with him to bring him comfort and companionship would be such a blessing to him.  

A service dog dog would help Kaiden in so many ways such as....

- retrieve items

- push automatic buttons in public

- carry items in a dog back pack for him

- open and close doors 

- hit elevator buttons

- behavior disruption 

- provide emotional support and companionship

- help facilitate peer relationships

- alert when Kaiden is having a seizure

-  give support and help him balance 

- mobility tasks on parent command

We are so excited to see what a 4 Paws for Ability Service Dog can do for Kaiden and our family.  Right now we are in the fundraising phase, once we raise 17,000 dollars, Kaiden will then be placed in a class list and the 2 year wait begins for his service dog to be trained specifically for Kaiden.