GREENFIELD — A woman got out of her car and walked to the front of the lemonade stand with a stack of cash in the palm of her hand. She smiled at the little boy hosting the stand, had a brief conversation with him, and then gave the money to the boy. As she started to walk away Micah Marlowe, 7 years old, thanked the woman and said, “you don’t want anything to drink?” That promoted the woman to stop, turn and say, “No. I just want to help you get your service dog.”
Micah, Greenfield, has type 1 diabetes. After years of his parents watching him 24/7, he came up with the idea to sell lemonade to raise funds to purchase a highly trained service dog who will be able to help keep the boy safe as he deals with diabetes daily.
Micah, family and friends are in the process of setting up a lemonade stand at various places throughout town this summer to help raise $25,000 for the service dog. That included hosting a lemonade stand off of Ind. 9 this past Sunday afternoon.
“Why I want to do this is because I like dogs and I think it would be fun to play with it and it will help monitor my blood sugar,” Micah said.
So far, the lemonade stand profits and a GoFundMe account have helped Micah raise just over $6,500, but he still needs several thousand more to put in a down payment and get the training process, which takes months, going.
As a type 1 diabetic, Micah’s parents, Christopher and Corrie Marlowe, say their son is at the age where he requires 24/7 monitoring. His mom, who works part time caring for an estate in Morristown, stays up overnight, every-night with Micah. His dad, who is able to work from home, wakes up early every morning to make sure someone has their eyes on Micah after the boy nearly went into a diabetic coma a few years ago when the family first found out he was diabetic.
“This was all Micah’s idea,” his dad said about hosting the lemonade stand. “We’ve been trying to raise the money since last year and we know it’s a lofty goal, but having the presence of a service dog in the house we feel really is the best thing we can do to keep an eye on our son.”
Micah’s mom home schools him, prepares all his high-protein, low-carb meals from scratch, all while raising Micah’s younger sister, being a wife and working. Still, she noted, keeping Micah safe is what the family knows they need to do and they do so with a whole heart.
Corrie, who noticed her son wasn’t his normal self a few years ago took him to a doctor, but the doctor, who didn’t do a blood test, told the family Micah was fine. It was shortly after Micah continued to go down hill and nearly went into a diabetic coma before his family got him help.
“We found out for sure he was diabetic in January of 2020,” Corrie said. “I had an inkling because I noticed he was sleeping all the time and he cried when he didn’t have water, because he was wanting water all the time, but the doctor totally dismissed him and then 24 hours later we had to take him to the hospital because he was just getting worse and worse.”
Corrie noted their family schedule isn’t for the faint of heart and they make many sacrifices to be with Micah 24/7, but it’s worth it seeing their son happy and pushing forward with his young life.
“The whole thing has been a big shock for us, but we’re figuring it out,” Corrie said. “It was about a month ago, and I’m in a prayer group with some others, when a request came in about a family who just lost a child at night, and that’s why a service dog would make such a big difference, because Chris and I get tired and will sometimes miss an alarm despite how hard we work to keep everything in check, and that’s so scary.”
Despite the diabetes, Micah’s dad said his son is a typical 7-year-old who loves being outside, fishing, climbing and watching the Avengers, particularly Thor and Spiderman.
Micah fell in love with the idea of having a service dog when it was first discovered he had diabetes.
“When he was in the hospital a few years ago recovering from when he nearly went into a coma they had a service dog there and Micah just loved that and it made him feel safe,” his dad said.
Family friend and neighbor Marissa Houston let the family use the parking lot near her business, Keller Williams Realty, Sunday afternoon to host the lemonade stand. Marissa, a mother of four herself, said she, too, would do anything for her children and wants to support the Marlow family as much as she can.
“Our business, we like to do community things, plus they’re our neighbors and Micah is just the cutest, sweetest little boy, so we wanted to help,” Marissa said. “Raising $25,000 is a big feat to try and accomplish on your own, but we’re seeing Greenfield stepping up to help so we’re thankful.”
The addition of a special service dog who is able to detect Micah’s lows while sleeping would provide Micah with more freedom when he is with friends, plus the dog would be a companion for Micah and be another set of eyes for his parents managing his health.
Anyone wishing to help Micah and his family raise the funds needed for his service dog can visit https://gofund.me/f922c44b to make a donation or mail donations to P.O. Box 205 at 207 N. State Street, Greenfield, IN 46140 or visit the family website at myt1ddog.com which will take people to the go-fund-me page.
More information on the type of dog Micah needs can be found at Bowen Elite Service Dogs via boweneliteservicedogs.com but all donations should go through the family.
