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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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Finally Home and Adjusting...

We made it home safely and Leo made the trip without any problems.  He slept most of the way and snuggled with Henna.  When we arrived at our home I went in and got Jonas.  He was SO excited to see me.  He was curious about Leo and did growl at him.  Chris walked Leo around the yard while I had Jonas.  We went inside and I put Jonas in his kennel so he could watch Leo move around the house.  Leo wanted to play with him.  After a while I opened Jonas's kennel and he came out.  The dogs did their sniffing and everything was fine.  I let them out in the back with a ball and they ran around as if they'd been friends for years.  Leo wanted to play a lot longer than Jonas did, old man, and he wore Jonas out.  We haven't had that luck with the cats.  Leo is curious and kept looking at Luna, the diva, out the glass door.  Here is Luna on the other side of the glass ready to take a swipe at him.  It will take time.
 Leo wasn't bothered by the kids trick and treating.  I threw a costume together for Henna and Chris took her and Carter out for a bit.  It was a chilly night and they stayed out later than I thought they would.
Since Leo came home we have been easy with him as he adjusts.  Adding such a big dog is like having another person in the home.  His personality is much like Jonas's, our Shepherd.  Very calm and easy going.  We decided to close Henna's bedroom door at night so Leo would stay in there.  I put a dog bed on the floor but he climbed on her bed and slept there all night.  Tonight we did the same thing.  Chris went in to check on Henna and she was seizing.  Leo jumped up on the bed and was standing over her.  He didn't bark when prompted by Chris, however.  Chris still praised him up and down and Leo got a treat.  It's a start!
Tomorrow Henna goes back to school so I'll try to put together a training schedule so I can work with Leo daily.  I'm going to try to get him into the school this week when they aren't in session so Leo can sniff around and get acquainted with Henna's room.
It's funny how "free" Leo thinks he is when he is off leash.  When he doesn't want to listen we put him on leash and he starts bucking it up.  On leash means he's working.  He has been playing a lot of ball with Henna and he is choosing to follow her around more than the other family members.  It helps that the boys are older and ignore the animals.


Here Leo is hanging out with us in the kitchen.  He has been curious about the food on the counter and found his treats that I had left open.  Luckily I caught him before he had eaten too many.   
It's been a long day unpacking, going through mail, cleaning, laundry, and monitoring our new boy.  Henna and I are going to stop by at one of the high schools on the 6th where they're having an ARC conference. We were invited by a parent who is getting a 4 Paws dog in the future has set up a 4 Paws table.  Should be fun!     
Follow us as we grow with Leo and learn more about him.    
Have a great Nov. 1st!
Jan                
Posted by Jan at 6:36 PM

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