South Brunswick Unites to Get Logan His Lab

The generosity and kindness of the South Brunswick community can truly be a sight to behold when one of the township’s own faces a hardship. In just under two months since word spread about enough money has been raised to purchase a $20,000 diabetic alert dog for the family.

"We're so thankful and grateful to everybody for showing our family so much love and support," said Logan's mom Meghan Fech. "It's been incredible. We can't thank people enough. This will be life-changing for him."

Logan suffers from a severe case of Type 1 Diabetes, commonly known as juvenile diabetes, and needs to have his blood sugar checked throughout the day and night. The Fechs wake Logan each night at midnight and 3 a.m. to make sure his levels don't drop too high or too low.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the cells in the pancreas that make insulin are destroyed. As a result, people with diabetes need to keep a close eye on the total amount of carbohydrates in their diet. For a kid Logan's age, these limitations can be difficult.

"Logan sees his brother eating things that he can't eat and that's difficult for him," Meghan said in a previous interview. "A few weeks ago he asked why he can't just be a normal kid. We try to make life as normal as possible for him, but he notices that he's a little different than other kids, and that's the hard part for us."

To try and bring some normalcy and security for Logan's condition into their lives, the Fechs began working to raise money to purchase the diabetic alert dog. The canines are able to detect significant changes in blood sugar just through the sense of smell. After they detect a drop or increase in blood sugar, the dogs are trained to bark or carry an item to a diabetes patient or parent to alert them to the problem 20 to 30 minutes before any machine could pick up the change in blood sugar level.

However, raising $20,000 to purchase the dog was a daunting task. The Fechs began a Facebook page and produced a video about Logan's daily struggle. Residents also donated money through the Guardian Angel Alert Dog web site. Soon thereafter local schools, community groups and individuals touched by Logan's story began doing whatever they could to help raise money.

Logan's school

"(Principal) Jodi Mahoney worked tirelessly to set this up and spread the word," Meghan said. "We received $4,000 from the school community alone. Logan's old daycare Rainbow Academy has also been so supportive and donated $2,000 as well."

Meghan said the family was overwhelmed by the love they received from complete strangers. But it was one young South Brunswick girl's gesture that also captured the hearts of an entire neighborhood.

Fabiana Russo, 8, heard about Logan's story at her school, Indian Fields Elementary, and decided that she had to take action to help a little boy she never met. On June 7, Fabiana set up a booth outside her home and sold snow cones she made using a "SpongeBob" snow cone maker and other snacks for 50 cents.

"Fabiana was really touched by the story because she has a big heart and cares about other people," said Fabiana's mother Giovanna Russo. "My neighbor called me and said you have to go outside and see what she's doing. She had this little booth set up and was cranking away on the snow cone maker. It was beautiful. She was just so into it. She was born with a tiny right kidney and has been in the hospital a lot, so I think this tweaked her to help somebody because she would want people to help her if she needed it."

From the time Fabiana returned home from school until 7 p.m., she kept working to raise money for Logan's lab. 

"When I see something bad happen to people like cancer or diabetes I want to help them because I love helping people," Fabiana said. "When I got home from school I said to my mom I'm helping 'Labs for Logan,' so I started making snow cones because I wanted to help Logan. I really want him to be happy because he really wants a dog to help him with his diabetes."

Fabiana was able to raise $200 for Logan, but it was the sight of her hard at work cranking on a snow cone maker for hours that left a lasting impact on her parents and neighbors.

"It was hysterical to see but it was also very emotional for me and my husband," Giovanna said. "It makes my heart bigger to see her do something so special. A lab for Logan touched everyone, and people were all putting money in her basket even if they didn't buy anything. It was beautiful to see such a united township."

Meghan said the work of kids like Fabiana and others in South Brunswick to help her son left the family inspired by the kindness of strangers.

"I've seen the most incredible generosity from adults, but the support from other kids has been the most emotional for us," she said. "From that little girl helping us by selling snow cones, to other kids we've seen setting up lemonade stands. We're so grateful to these kids. Logan's baseball team gave up their pizza party at the end of the season to donate the money. It's just been so amazing."

Even with all the donations, the Fechs were still about $10,000 short. That is, until an anonymous donor heard about Logan's struggle and decided to pay the remaining balance to get Logan his diabetic alert dog.

"When Logan found out he just threw his arms up in the air and was screaming and yelling (see picture)," Meghan said. "His twin brother Dylan couldn't believe somebody gave a donation for the rest of the money. They were both screaming 'that's impossible!' It was just so exciting for all of us."

Meghan said the addition of the dog to their family would be life altering, and provide them with a layer of security for Logan that's never existed.

"This dog will be with Logan through all of his situations in daily life and is able to detect high and low blood sugar even when he's unable to feel it," she said. "It will alert him or us and keep him safe from any spikes or drops. Basically any dangerous situation that may arise."

Even though the hard task of raising the money is over, it will still be quite some time before Logan gets his lab. The waiting list for the highly trained dogs is about eight months. But for the Fech family, the wait is a small obstacle on their path to bring normalcy to Logan's life as they reflect on the amazing outpouring of support and love from people both young and old alike.

"We hope to have the dog by Christmas or on Logan's birthday January 2. That would be a wonderful gift for the family," Meghan said. "We cannot wait for the next phase of our journey, getting the dog. We are truly blessed."