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.

Please register your email address to receive her blogs and share with your friends!


FOLLOWERS

Pages

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Henna had a great stay at Jill's House

Henna and Leo did great at Jill's House over the weekend.  When we picked up Henna she didn't want to go and threw a temper tantrum.  She was crying and screaming at us and when we got in the car she continued for 45 minutes all the way home.  Chris and I were silent.  Apparently Henna started to mimic behaviors from a boy that was there.  She had a few occasions where she treated Leo poorly because the boy said he didn't like dogs.  She won't be staying on the same weekend as this boy again.  I think younger kids are better for Henna to be grouped with.  She is emotionally young but her hormones are pinging.  Poor baby.  It was good to get them home.  Henna had calmed down once we got to the house and did apologize.  I bathed her and she was ready for bed.  We'll try another weekend at the end of March.


Here is a picture Henna drew on the glass door while she waited for the bus.  It reminded me of a story where a young girl had died in a car accident.  Her mother was taking a shower and the steam of the shower made it so she could see a message her daughter had written on the bathroom window before she died.  It said, "I love you, Mom".   She had it framed.
Today was a glorious day.  I had a good workout this morning and now I'm getting the house together because I have surgery on my fingers tomorrow.  I am having pins put in the first joints of my left pointer and middle fingers.  I have osteo arthritis and they are knotted and gnarly.  This will make 5 pins I will have.  It's tough to have your body turn on you.
I'll write again when I can.  Have a blessed weekend.
Jan
Posted by Jan at 1:45 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)