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

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

4 Paws Training Day #8

 Today we reviewed what we had learned and worked on distractions.  Nestle LOVES leaves and actually pulled down one of the family members while chasing leaves when they arrived at training.  Jeremy brought in a pile of leaves and Nestle got very excited.  She even grabbed one when passing by the pile.

 As Stacey worked with her using corrections and treats she became more obedient in leaving the leaves alone.  They got to where they could walk through the pile of leaves and Nestle wouldn't even look at them.  It's amazing to see how much these dogs want to please.  Nestle has been the dog who licks aggressively at her little boy's ears, mouth, and neck about 1-2 hours before he has a seizure.  I can't wait until Leo responds on his own.

 Henna was out of sorts today.  She was fussy and tired.  She played with Leo and he gave her kisses.  I gave Leo a Kong toy and before I knew it he had chewed off the top of it.  So much for one of the strongest toys for chewers.  His paws and muzzle were all black from it.
 Here's Nestle doing some retrieval work.  He will pick up an object up and place it in the chair.
 Cassidy is trained to retrieve for Alyssa too.  They worked on opening doors and drawers again today.
Henna with Leo in an "over".  We went to the mall this afternoon and Leo performed well.  Henna and Chris went back to the hotel.  Henna wouldn't have made it.  Everyone is interested in Leo's unusual look.  I'm going to give him a bath on Friday and have his beard trimmed.  It carries too much water after he's had a drink.  Friday we have to take a public access test at the mall and then we have graduation.  Jeremy will follow us around and the dogs and handlers are expected to be able to execute all of the commands.  I'm confident Leo will do fine, it's me I worry about!  Ha! 
We have to give Leo medication for 3 days and he saw me getting it ready and ran and jumped up on Henna's bed with her.  He's very smart.  Jeremy said he was a sharp dog.  When we get home I'm going to train him in some basic search and rescue work where he will be able to find Henna if she wanders off.  Jeremy said he has a great sniffer.  Usually Henna goes next door to play with the neighbor boys so it's not that big of a deal.
Time to get Henna her meds and a bath.  Thanks for tuning in each day and wanting to be a part of Henna's journey.  Oh, by the way, I heard from Jill's House and they want Henna to come for respite in Dec.  They are going to get a handler for Leo while they stay there.  I'm looking forward to SLEEPING!!!
Jan
Posted by Jan at 3:31 PM

1 comment:

  1. JaniceOctober 27, 2010 at 12:42 AM

    Dearest Jan... I continue to be amazed at these beautiful dogs and what they can do. I can't imagine being there in person.

    Have you seen Karen?

    janice

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)