Toby's Furry Faithful Friend
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
4 Paws for Ability Inc$1,538
raised by 32 people
$17,000 goal
Hello, my name is Toby Holt, and I’m 11 years old (almost 12). I was born with a condition called Spina Bifida, which is where the bones around the spinal cord didn’t fuse together and caused an open hole in my back at birth. I also have hydrocephalus, which is where the ventricles in my brain produce excess fluid and require a shunt to drain it. I had two surgeries within the first four days of my life.
When I was 2 ½ weeks old, I went into respiratory failure, and spent 64 days at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. My airway was collapsing, my vocal cords were paralyzed, and I required a trach tube to help me breathe, a feeding tube in my stomach to eat, and a ventilator to keep me alive. I have a condition called Central Sleep Apnea, which means my brain doesn’t tell my body to breathe when I’m in a deep sleep.
Over my lifetime, I have faced 39 surgeries, multiple hospital stays, and major medical events like a bowel obstruction, abdominal surgeries, multiple shunt surgeries, a four to six-hour convulsive seizure the doctors had difficulty stopping, and scoliosis. As a result of my scoliosis, I have special rods in my back called VEPTR, that keep my back straight, but that also require surgery several times a year to grow. In the summer of 2018, my shunt tubing had to be moved from my abdomen to my heart.
I am so excited because I’ve been telling my parents for a long time that I would love to have a service dog. A service dog will help me open doors, retrieve things I drop on the floor, and meet new people. Sometimes people are afraid to talk to me because I still have a trach and I use a wheelchair full time. A service dog will help me become more independent.
The training of a service dog costs 4 Paws for Ability between $40,000-$60,000. Our fee is $17,000, and this is the amount we are trying to raise.
If you can help me reach my goal of getting a service dog, please donate online or if you're more comfortable, you may send your donation to:
4 Paws For Ability
For: Toby Holt
253 Dayton Avenue
Xenia, OH 45385
Please spread the word to your family and friends and help me reach my goal!