Alva Review-Courier -

Paige Springer is a 6 and a half year old who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 3. In Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks part of its own pancreas. Doctors are not sure why this happens, but the immune system mistakenly sees the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas as foreign, and it destroys them. This attack is known as “autoimmune disease,” and there is no known cure.

Paige deals with this disease with more courage and strength than most adults would. She is not on an insulin pump because she doesn't want anything hanging from her body to make her feel different from other kids. Her parents hope that in the future Paige will change her mind. Paige is classified as MDI, meaning she requires multiple daily injections of insulin. Every day, Paige receives nine to ten finger sticks to monitor her blood sugar and six to seven shots of insulin to regulate it. Sometimes her blood sugar falls so low that she passes out. She doesn’t feel her lows, so neither she nor her family have advance warning about the potentially deadly crashes. Currently, her family uses a glucagon injection to bring her sugar back up quickly.

Having an alert dog would be life changing for Paige and for her parents and caregivers. Diabetic-alert dogs are trained to detect the difference (highs and lows) in blood sugar and alert the family before the situation becomes critical. Dogs can usually alert the family to changes in blood sugar even faster than monitors can and without more painful needle sticks. A diabetic-alert dog would greatly increase Paige’s quality of life and her parents’ peace of mind.

Paige is going to be in the first grade at Aline-Cleo. Her dad Trent graduated from Aline-Cleo, and her mother Laura (Fishback) graduated from Timberlake in 2006. Paige has three sisters, Kaylee, Addison and Taya.

The Springer family needs to raise $16,000 for the dog, and a Gypsy Art painting party is their first public effort toward reaching that goal. The Gypsy Art painting will be held on Saturday, July 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the multi-purpose building behind Timberlake High School in Helena. Each child’s canvas costs $25, and each adult's is $45. RSVP to Laura Springer at 580-884-9153.