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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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Henna finally meets Leo!

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What a day this has been. We're totally exhausted yet looking forward to another day of training.  We arrived at 4 Paws early and when we walked in we saw all the crates lined up.  For having so many dogs in one place the smell wasn't bad.  Our noses adjusted quickly.  :)  Henna found Leo right away.  He was quiet and a little shy.  When she put her fingers through the crate door Leo licked them. They had a kennel with a litter of lab pups that were absolutely adorable.  All of the kids gravitated toward them and the puppies chewed on their fingers.  As everyone arrived, we took our seats and waited patiently for the big moment.


Henna's new friend Emily
DJ playing with the puppies

Jeremy introduced each dog individually.  You could hear a pin drop as they lead the dogs to each child.  Henna was giddy and excited.  Leo is very food motivated and they gave us a bag of treats so Henna could feed Leo.  He tried to get into the bag and Henna didn't know what to do.  She was a little mortified by all of his slobber and drooling.  We worked on basic commands (sit, down, and heel) and Jeremy talked about seizures.  He said that although Leo had alerted, barked, when smelling the seizure shirts I had sent out, it may take time for Leo to transfer or relate that smell to Henna.  Leo's sister alerted to a seizure while in class.  She aggressively licked and smelled Andrew right before he had a seizure. 
It was fantastic! 




Handsome boy! 

We took Leo outside and let him run in the yard.  He prances and runs like a deer.  Henna played hide and seek with him.
By the end of the day everyone was tired.  I was grateful for a small class of 7.  The distractions were minimal and Henna didn't get too over stimulated.  By the time we got back to the hotel Leo was ready to eat , we did some more practicing, Henna had a bath, and everyone settled in for the night.  Leo is asleep at my feet as I type.  I tried to get him to sleep on Henna's bed but he came back to me.  I handled him the most today so I'm his security blanket right now.  We'll keep redirecting him to Henna.  Time for bed.  Another long day of training tomorrow.  Thanks for your friendship and support.
Leo didn't stay long on the bed but at least he gave it a try.





Posted by Jan at 6:01 PM

1 comment:

  1. SusanOctober 19, 2010 at 7:27 PM

    Wonderful update!!! Love the pics and I will get with you tomorrow to download the video of Alyssa... thanks for taking it for me. See you tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete

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