Meet Vivian, a three year-old, self proclaimed "goofball!" She is arguably, the happiest, silliest, smartest, and toughest little girl most people have the pleasure of meeting. She has faced seemingly insurmountable challenges and adversity in her life, but still smiles each day and will be the first to tell you she feels "happy," no matter what. Vivian was born with an extremely rare genetic disease called Trichohepatoenteric Syndrome (THES), which only has a prevalence of approximately 1 in 1 million births. She's had numerous hospitalizations spanning multiple months until finally they were able to confirm her diagnosis at 18 months old. Unfortunately, when Vivian was 6 weeks old, she had complications during one of her hospitalizations that led to a cardiac arrest and a blood clot in her left leg. The clot was inoperable which resulted in Vivian having a through-knee amputation.

Since her diagnosis with THES, Vivian and her parents have worked closely with Gastroenterologists, Hepatologists, Dietitians/Nutritionists, Geneticists, Pathologists, Immunologists, Neurologists, Nephrologists, Cardiologists, Hematologists,

Orthopedics, and Prosthetists to ensure that she continues to grow and thrive despite life's challenges. She is reliant on parenteral nutrution through a central line each day to overcome her intestinal failure as result of her condition. She also works weekly with speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy with the simple, yet challenging goal, of being like every other kid. Despite all of this, she keeps a cheerful attitude - she loves reading, singing songs, playing with her cats, and she especially loves going to preschool.

Our goal for Vivian is to give her as much independence as possible. Vivian is able to walk with her prosthetic, but due to her age and size, the design is very simple - there is no ankle or knee joint. So while she can walk with the assistance of a walker, she struggles to stand from a sitting position and vice versa. She grows in ability each day with her prosthetic, but is still hesitant to walk without a walker or someone there to help her balance, and restricted based on terrain that she can take her walker on. The goal for Vivian's service dog would be to act as a mobility partner. A service dog would grant Vivian independence and a new level of confidence in herself and her abilities.

You can also mail a check or money order to:

W.A.G.S. 4 Kids, 112 East Center Street, Berea, OH 44017

Please make a memo that your donation is for Vivan