Since I last wrote Leo is feeling very much a part of the family. So much so he decided to help himself to a big chunk of cream cheese that I had left in a bowl on the counter. I stepped out to check on Henna and when I returned Leo was gone and it was very quiet. I found him in the dining room licking cream cheese. Jonas was waiting patiently for his turn. Leo is so tall that he can reach things that most dogs can't. Luckily I had more cream cheese for my yummy cream cheese brownies. :]
Thursday Leo went to school and met Henna's class. Once his harness goes on he pouts and is very subdued. When we walked into Henna's classroom I let Leo "free" and he went right to Henna. He was an angel and enjoyed all of the kids. He stayed in "place" for a length of time and seemed to enjoy the room. Many of the kids are frightened of dogs but actually touched Leo because he was so calm. We walked around the school again and then took Henna and went home. Henna wanted to ride the bus home and had a big temper tantrum with screaming and crying all the way home. Leo was calm while she was so loud. I had to go into check out mode! She did settle down when we got home and played with Leo.
This morning Henna had a seizure before getting up and I called Leo to Henna and he sniffed her and licked her mouth. Good sign. He got hot dogs! When Henna got on the bus Leo cried for her. He was very excited to see her when she got off the bus today. I will be meeting with transportation to decide how Henna and Leo will be transported to and from school. Leo and I will also be meeting all of the school kids on Monday and Tues. We will introduce Leo in each PE class on those 2 days. Then we will start going in on half days to train with the class handler. Miss A is great and owns 2 dogs herself. She'll do fine.
Guess what? Leo and Luna, diva cat, are friends! Luna will rub up against him and he will lick her. She does the same with Jonas. Luna is still not to keen on how excited and active Leo gets. She gives him a hiss and he backs off. All that worrying I did about the two liking each other... now all is well.
I just put Leo in Henna's room for the night. He goes right in and jumps up on her bed and lays down. I'm off to bed now too. Busy day tomorrow. We're going to the ARC convention to meet another 4 Paws parent who is fundraising for their dog.
Jan
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.
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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