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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Friday, February 4, 2011

Henna did great today!

We got up at 4:00 am and Henna was already awake.  She was in good spirits and very talkative.  Leo was a little anxious and couldn't figure out why we were up so early.  We got on the road by 4:30 and made it to Children's Hospital in DC with plenty of time to spare.  Everyone was very nice, a little leery of Leo, but intrigued once again with his breed and size.  Some of the kids in the waiting room were able to pet Leo and I gave one mother info about 4 Paws for her son.  We were called back to a room where I dressed Henna in a gown, vitals were taken, and the doctor came and talked with us.  I gave Henna some medication to help her relax.  She had been very manic and laughed and giggled for most of the morning.  Nerves!  After the medication started to kick in I noticed Henna getting very sober and her lip begin to quiver.  I asked her if she was scared and she said no.  I asked her if she was sad and she said yes.  The doctor said it was a common side affect of the medication.  They wheeled her back to the operating room and got to work.
Chris and I went to the cafeteria and had breakfast.  Leo ate too.  He was a model service dog and represented 4 Paws for Ability well.  He didn't go out to the bathroom until we got home which was 8 hours later.
Henna's surgery lasted a little over 2 hours and Dr. Yaun said Henna did great, no tears with the IV, and other than placement of the coil around the Vagal Nerve in the beginning of the operation, all went well. Henna will see her neurologist on the 15th to turn on the VNS. 

When we went back to the recovery room Henna was in and out.  When she saw us she was very sassy and told us to leave.  That's my Henna in survival mode!  She kept trying to pull the tape off the bandage on her neck as well as the leads to the BP machine and IV.  While doing this her gown would drop down and as much as I tried to get her to keep it up and cover her up she fought me.  Henna the flasher!  Sigh... Finally she ate some applesauce, took some Tylenol, drank some juice, and we were able to get her unhooked and out of the hospital.  All she wanted was McDonald's so we stopped on our way home.  She napped when we got home then got on the computer for awhile.  She just got into bed and hopefully will sleep well. 

Thanks for all of your prayers and support.
Jan
Posted by Jan at 5:55 PM

1 comment:

  1. JaniceFebruary 4, 2011 at 6:09 PM

    Jan - beautiful photos... Thanks for sharing Henna's day.

    Hoping for the best news possible on the 15th !!

    janice

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