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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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Overnight Camp at Jill's House

After Henna had a shower and we had fed her we headed for Jill's House, Henna's overnight camp.  She was anxious and tired after taking her medication.  We arrived early and the staff was there to welcome us.  Kris was there for her shift with Leo as his handler.  We first met with the nurse to go over all the paperwork and Henna's medication.  The facility is absolutely amazing!  We didn't get to wander around as much as we would have liked because there were kids already coming in.  They will have 12 kids for the weekend, ages ranging from 7-16.  All have various disabilities.  They said they get a lot of autistic kids and kids that are nonverbal.  I told them get ready for a stimulating weekend with Henna and all her questions and conversation.  She is so outgoing that I hope she will be able to draw some of the other kids out.



This is Henna's nervous but brave look right before they took her back to her room.  She hugged me and said, "bye Mom", then she turned around and left.  Kris decided she was going to stay both nights at the house to make sure everything went well the first time with Leo.  There are 5 handlers who are going to each do different shifts with Leo.  They are all volunteers and work through the church.  What a blessing not to have to worry about Leo!

 Henna is staying on the Wilderness floor. The painted murals were fantastic and everything was geared for the kids.  The room Henna will stay in will be right across from the nurse's station. There is a door with a Plexiglas window that they can open and check in on her. They will check on Henna every 15 minutes. I also provided them with Henna's video monitor so they may watch her and Leo's activity. Henna has a tendency to get up in the night. If she goes to the bathroom by herself she may have a seizure and fall.


There were different rooms with different activities to fit the needs of all the kids. They had a tumble room that was padded for climbing...
 The gymnasium had adaptive gym equipment, padded walls, and was colorful and fun.
A computer lab...

A wonderful music room with colorful murals and God's reminder of His love.

The art room had this mural on the wall and the way it was painted with perspective made it look like the room extended on.  It was amazing!  The portrait in the back is of Jill, who Jill's House was named for.

 This is the next area that will open for kids.  It has a space theme and is upstairs.
The sensory room was SO cool.  This acrylic tube was lighted with different colors and had water in it.  Bubbles continuously filled the tube.

The sensory board was to die for.  I would love that!

Henna won't be swimming this time because of her VNS.  Lifeguards are always in the water with the kids and the deepest part of the pool is 3 feet.  Henna is a swimmer but she will still have a blast in the pool next visit! 
As we left we were at peace knowing our little girl was in wonderful, loving hands.  I got a text this morning saying all went well last night with Leo and Kris was handing Leo off to the next handler.
God is good!
Time to pull together my outfit for our yearly Academy party.  Early 70's attire.  I borrowed a shirt from my dear friend so I'll be looking like a high school teeny popper! 
Thanks for checking in and please keep Henna in your prayers!
Jan



Posted by Jan at 5:59 AM

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