Martin

PLOTTING A NEW GARDEN? Startingwithpotting soilcancut wateringneedsand helpyourplants PageB2 Service dog assists student with epilepsy MARTIN COUNTY — High school can be tough for any teen. But 16-yearold Katie O’Brien, a sophomore at South Fork High... More

PLOTTING A NEW GARDEN? Startingwithpotting soilcancut wateringneedsand helpyourplants PageB2 Service dog assists student with epilepsy MARTIN COUNTY — High school can be tough for any teen. But 16-yearold Katie O’Brien, a sophomore at South Fork High School, has an even higher sense of anxiety. Diagnosed with epilepsy at age nine, Katie worries that at any moment a seizure could strike — especially while roaming the halls at high school. “The concern is not only for the effects of the seizure, but also people’s reactions, because there are a lot of misconceptions about what to do while someone is having a seizure and many times people trying to help can be even more dangerous,” said Jeri Lynn O’Brien, Katie’s mother. Thankfully, Katie will now have protection when seizures strike thanks to a four-legged friend who will serve as a seizure alert and response dog. The sixmonth-old Golden Retriever, named Ellie, was received from Noelle’s Dogs Four Hope, an organFor Hometown News News Less