MINNEAPOLIS - Tom Sandness can go to work, and his mom, Mary, can rest easy.
"I've been meaning to write to you about my son, Tom Sandness," Mary reads.
For Mary, it's easier this way. Easier to write down her feelings, expressing just how scared she was every single day.
"We held on to Tom during his many, many seizures. We rode in the ambulance with him, we sat by his bed in hospitals."
Tom was in the hospital because his blood sugar would drop so low, so fast. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was seven, and for years, he could tell when his blood sugar was dropping. But, as he got older, that became more difficult.
"I was terrified at night. I didn't want to go to sleep and miss a single sound. What if his blood sugar dropped and he didn't wake up?"
And, then, about four years ago, Tom got Freida, a diabetes assistance dog from Can Do Canines. Freida can smell when Tom's blood sugar is getting low and she'll nudge him to warn him.
"If Tom is too disoriented to get his glucose tabs, Freida will do that for him."
Freida's changed Tom's life. He hasn't been to the hospital since he got her. Not once. And, Mary can sleep again... giving her time to write this letter to Can Do Canines.
"With my profound thinks... Mary Sandness."