Hello again from the team at the OM@home blog, a blog about children and young people, written for children and young people . . . .
For young people just like you, about young people who inspire us here at OM HQ.
Young people like Evan Moss . . . .

In some respects, Evan is a typical eight-year-old . . .

He spends his spare time playing Nintendo games. He is a Pokemon expert. He plays basketball, devours pizza and has a dog he adores. But dig a little deeper and Evan is far from typical.

He is, for one thing, a published author, his efforts having featured on Amazon’s Bestseller Lists, one recent book-signing session attracting a line of admirers that stretched right around the block. He is, for another, in constant danger.

You see, ever since birth Evan has suffered from severe epilepsy, his condition requiring him to undergo a complicated brain operation as a small child. For a time, Evan endured up to 400 seizures a month. These have become less frequent in time, although recent episodes have proved longer and more dangerous.

Evan’s condition has made his life both difficult and delicate, although he refuses to let his troubles get him down. Instead, he decided to write a book.

Called My Seizure Dog, Evan had hoped that the project might help him raise enough to fund a service dog, trained to help those suffering seizures. Seizure dogs can sense that an attack is imminent and raise the alarm, in addition to providing support and comfort during such episodes. But Seizure dogs are expensive.

Evan needed to raise $13,000 (4 Paws for Ability, the non-profit organization that supplies service dogs estimate that it costs $22,000 to train one). It seemed a tall order, but so special is this third-grader, he soon had enough.

He had more than enough, in fact, the total soon racing to $45,o00. So far Evan’s book has raised sufficient funds to provide service dogs for seven other people. Most importantly, though, he has his.

She’s called Mindy, and the pair have soon become inseparable. Having travelled to Ohio to collect her, Evan didn’t hesitate to remove the pink bows from Mindy’s hair. He is disappointed that she doesn’t seem to eat pizza, but says she enjoys playing a little Pokemon.

Here at OM HQ, we felt inspired to share this tale. Because no problem is so great that it cannot be overcome. Because with determination, drive and the right attitude, anything can be achieved. Because some connections are so great, it’s important to celebrate them.

Here’s to Evan and Mindy . . .

We are all connected.