Henna's Journey...: Roller Coaster Seizures...Sigh

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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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Roller Coaster Seizures...Sigh

Since Henna had the grand mal seizures she has had tons of seizures daily. One day she had almost 40 seizures. The other day at school she had 35 and I had to pick her up. Yesterday it was 25. We've increased her Lamictal and will slowly try to get her to 150 mg. Henna is super sensitive to her medication and a little goes a long way. If we go over that threshold she will have more seizures. Kind of stinks that this is happening right before we go into the mountains for vacation. She'll still go tubing and swimming but we're going to have to keep a close eye on her.
Leo has been doing great! He is tired also because Henna is getting up 2-3 times a night. One day before school Henna was sitting on the kitchen floor laughing and talking with me and Leo came in out of the blue and nuzzled his way under her arms, laid across Henna's lap, and put his head down. Not but a minute later she had a seizure. He then got up and went about his merry way. Another time she had a seizure and he positioned himself directly in front of her so she could balance against him. He doesn't leave her much and is usually within close proximity to where she is. At school he gets very nervous and wants to be by her. They have gotten to where they let him follow her around the room instead of staying "in place" on his mat. He stays right beside her. She was at recess in the gym and they usually don't let him run around the gym with Henna because there are numerous kids in there. Many autistic kids. One day he would not settle down and kept pulling on the leash to get to Henna. The teacher let him loose and he stayed with Henna the whole time. If Henna has a lot of seizures Leo doesn't really alert but stays with her. The air is saturated with her scent and it's overwhelming to him. He's really a remarkable dog!
I trimmed him up last night and he was not a happy camper! Wait until tonight...Chris is giving him a shower and then he's going to dry him with his motorcycle air dryer. It's not hot air and much like the groomers use. He will look so handsome.
Denesha got home from college and Henna was elated. They love each other so much!