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.

Please register your email address to receive her blogs and share with your friends!


FOLLOWERS

Pages

Saturday, October 23, 2010

4 Paws Training Day #5

This morning Henna had her morning seizures and Leo's head popped up.  I prompted him to bark and he did.  He then went to where Henna was laying and started rubbing his nose all over her sheets.  It was almost the type of thing a dog does when he finds something dead and rolls in it.  He then started scratching the sheets as if he was digging and wanted to find something.  We were told that a dog will lick the temples, skull, and smell the mouth aggressively before and sometimes after a seizure.  2 other dogs alerted on seizures today.  Henna also had a seizure in class and Leo barked and then smelled her face and mouth.  Very promising.  The trainer described what Leo is smelling is like he walked into a candle factory where there are a million vanilla candles burning and that's all he can smell.  He can't smell that ONE vanilla candle burning.  This is because Henna has a lot of seizures and always carries a seizure scent.  If Henna only had one seizure now and then it would be like one vanilla candle burning in a room and Leo would be able to distingush nonseizure scent vs seizure scent better.  Jeremy said it may take Leo a while to differentiate Henna's normal smell from her seizure smell.  Makes sense.
 When we walked into class today Jen was training "Crunch" to open a door.  It looks so simple but it takes hours and hours of training for just for a dog to learn one thing.  Jen uses a lot of enthusiasm and energy and Crunch responds well to "the game".
These little pups are Goldendoodles.  They will have longer hair than Leo.  When I asked if their personality was basically the same as a Labradoodle the answer surprised me.  I was told Goldendoodles are usually more submissive than the Labradoodles.  Jen said the Lab is a more outgoing dog.  Learn something new everyday.
 We worked on obedience training again this morning, putting the dogs under a table in a down position, having them stay in a down position for a length of time while there were distractions, more seizure information, and going to their "place" (Mutt Matt).  We also learned about basic grooming, health care, appropriate toys, nail clipping, and medication for each breed of dog.  This was old news for us being a dog owner but valuable to some who have never owned a dog.
Leo chewed on his back foot during training and it looked as though he had separated his nail a bit while out running.  He's a tough guy and seemed fine after lunch..
 Applebee's,  Bumblebee's as Henna calls it, was having a 4 Paws fundraiser today so most of the class took their dogs there for lunch.  Leo was subperb!  He went under the table and layed down and stayed until we were done.  Few, if anyone, knew he was there.
 Chris and DJ
 Me and my girl
Sweet Leo trying to fit his 80 lb body under this table.  He will grow another inch tall and maybe 10-15 lbs. heavier.  Looks like we're going to have to find a restaurant with a very tall table.  :)
Thanks for all your prayers.  I miss you all and can't wait to get home.
Jan
More to come...
Posted by Jan at 5:36 PM

2 comments:

  1. JaniceOctober 23, 2010 at 8:55 PM

    Dearest Jan - I can't begin to explain how much your blogs about the training at 4Paws has meant to me.

    My husband, Mark, didn't accompany me when I picked up Chester 5 years ago. He has been eagerly reading and learning from your daily posts. AND he has been sharing the "miracles" of 4Paws with friends and co-workers. We're hoping we can get many knew supporters for the children and 4Paws itself.

    Isn't it wonderful that the entire town of Xenia is so supportive (and proud) of 4Paws?

    fondly - janice

    ReplyDelete
  2. JaniceOctober 23, 2010 at 8:58 PM

    Opps - was wondering if you would mind if I used a photo of Henna and Leo for my FB profile....

    They've both captivated my heart and posting their photo should help me promote 4Paws....

    thanks for your consideration of my request... janice

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)