A MIRACLE!

Henna was 2 years old when she was admitted to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury. She had been thrown against a concrete wall by her biological father for crying too long. She had two depressed skull fractures, old blood on the brain from previous abuse, a lacerated liver, collapsed lung, suspected sexual abuse, and shaken baby syndrome. Henna coded while on the way to the hospital via helicopter and was brought back to life only to go into surgery to relieve pressure on her brain. She was not expected to live through the night. Henna was in a coma for one month hanging on to life. Then the miracle happened! Henna woke up and was able to move all her limbs and speak, shocking all of the medical professionals. We took Henna into our home and shortly after her arrival she started having seizures.

Henna's journey continues as we try to control her seizures. She received the Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) on Feb. 4, 2011 at Children's Hospital in Washington, DC. The VNS will send an electrical impulse to Henna's brain every 3 minutes for 30 seconds to interrupt her seizures. Over two months we have increased the electrical current and we have seen no change in her seizure activity. It looks as though Henna is in the third of children who receive a VNS that sees no relief from the VNS. We are very disappointed! We have started her on a new medication in addition to her current medications. Maybe it will help.

On August 6th, 2012, Henna had a full corpus callosotomy. This surgery is for people who have generalized seizures with no focal point. The corpus callosum is a band of nerve fibers located deep in the brain that connects the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain. It helps the hemispheres share information, but it also contributes to the spread of seizure impulses from one side of the brain to the other. A corpus callosotomy is an operation that severs (cuts) the corpus callosum, interrupting the spread of seizures from hemisphere to hemisphere. Seizures generally do not completely stop after this procedure (they continue on the side of the brain in which they originate). However, the seizures usually become less severe, as they cannot spread to the opposite side of the brain.

Henna received a white Labradoodle, Leo, from 4 Paws for Ability in Oct. 2010. We sent 4 Paws 2 shirts a week to help train her dog. One shirt was when Henna had a seizure and they used it for her dog to smell the chemical change during her seizure. The other shirt was when Henna had NOT had a seizure. This helped her dog differentiate between the two scents. It's a fascinating process. We trained for 10 day in Ohio with Leo and a trainer before bringing Leo home.

Leo had been going to school with Henna but started to bark and growl at different people when they came into her classroom. We worked with Leo's barking and growling when people would knock on the door and for a while he seemed better. He is very protective at home also. He then barked and growled at some boys who came into Henna's classroom and had to be removed from school. The trainer at 4 Paws said that some dogs bond so closely with their child that they become protective. Leo took on Henna's classroom as another home and felt he had to protect her. Sadly, because of his aggressive behavior, Leo can no longer be a service dog. The trainer said Leo would behave lthat way with any child he bonded to. Just his nature. We will keep Leo as a pet. Leo LOVES being just a pet. He still alerts to Henna's seizures and lives to get his hot dog reward!

Henna now has Snoball, a beautiful Golden Retriever. Snoball was born June 3, 2011. She is so sweet and a bundle of energy! Sno is doing an excellent job alerting to Henna's seizures BEFORE she has them! She is alerting up to one hour before Henna has a seizure. Sno goes to school with Henna and proudly wears her school ID badge. Snoball will be a great seizure alert dog and will serve Henna well.

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

4 Paws Training Day #3

We start class each morning relaxing and chatting with other families.  Henna had her Benadryl so she was a little tired.  She broke out on her arms the first day and her nose was running so I started her on the allergy medicine.  It's been helping her.  Today we reviewed yesterday's commands and 3 dogs worked on object retrieval for children using a chair.  It's wonderful to watch these dogs eagerly work and want to please.  

                                    Heeling with Leo.
                                                  Since Leo will be used for balance work he will stand instead of sit when we are not heeling.  He will either stand or go into a down position.  Dogs can stand up to 2 hours.  I am working a heel then a stand with Leo here.  If Henna should need to balance against Leo he will have to stand close to her and try to help keep her upright.
  Henna and her new friends colored pictures out of her Spiderman color book.  They colored for quite awhile.
 We were given a Gentle Lead Collar which many service dog agencies use.  These work very well especially for dogs who pull.  They self correct instead of having to use the wrist snap correction used with a zip training collar.  The muzzle is very sensitive.  It only takes a gentle tug to correct the dog if he pulls or doesn't obey by having the collar around the muzzle .  The dog seems to walk slower and knows he is in a training mode.  Leo did NOT like this collar.  He tried to rub it off and then his personality changed from the happy-go-lucky little fellow to the depressed pity party Labradoodle.  LOL.  He did well on this lead but was happy when I took it off.  Since Henna is bigger and more mobile we shouldn't have a problem with Leo walking too fast and pulling her.  In fact, she has been the one going too fast and Leo tries to keep up with her!
 Food helped motivate Leo to ignore the Gentle Lead Collar and work well with it on.
 We were taught how to hold the leash and and heel while pushing a shopping cart.  Easier said than done.  If a dog doesn't heel well he will run into the back of the cart.  Once again, I had to use a treat to keep Leo motivated to ignore his Gentle Lead Collar.
Henna had a few seizures but Leo didn't alert.  He did lay very close to Henna until she came out of it.
 
Leo was fit for a harness today.  He will wear a leather one with a stand up handle for Henna to hold in case she has a seizure.  Henna tries very hard to stay upright when she has certain seizures so this will help her along with Leo doing his balance work.  As you can see, Leo pouted when his harness was put on.  It is very stiff so Chris will oil it and try to soften it up.  We will also get a nylon harness.  Henna will have a short leash she can hang on to so she feels as though she is the one walking Leo. 

Leo demonstrated seizure recognition, alert, with one of the trainers.  She imitated Henna having a seizure, shaking and dropping to the ground.  Leo is supposed to bark to alert.  He did and was rewarded immediately with a treat.  We were told to practice this so I did when we got back to the hotel and he did bark.  The trainer said to a dog this is a game so we have to make it fun.  I did my crazy jumping around, praising Leo up and down and he thought he was pretty special.

We learned how to place our dog under a table.  We will use this command when we go out to eat.  Leo did very well with this exercise.  This is Nestle, who is a pro.  He is a solid service dog.

Today was another jam packed day with a lot of information.  We are all exhausted but feeling more prepared to take on this responsibility.  I look at Henna and see how happy and excited she is to finally have "her" dog and it's all worth it.  I just pray Leo will alert before her seizures.  Only time will tell. 

Hugs to all,
Jan

Posted by Jan at 6:58 PM

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