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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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter 2011

 Off to church.  Henna wore a white frilly dress and felt like a princess.  She and Carter were great during the service.

 The gang...
Nikayla

 Blowing bubbles ~
 Malik
Khloe
Henna on the prowl.
After we got home Mica, Carter, Crissy, Nikayla, Malik, and Khloe came over and we had an Easter basket hunt.  Each child had to follow the path of his/her colored eggs to their basket.  It was short and sweet.  These kids were serious hunters!
I put colorful pin wheels by the baskets and the wind had them whirling.



 Mica brought over solid chocolate butterfly suckers and I told Henna she could eat a little bit of hers. It was so big! The next time I checked on her she had it almost gone.

 


Little stinker :)




We had a fun day and one we must always remember.  Jesus is alive and loves us.  What a message of hope for us all!

On another note, I talked with Jeremy about keeping Leo and he said he didn't see a problem with it as long as he didn't interfere with henna's new dog's job.  We have already started to transfer the bond from Henna to us.  Leo slept in my room last night.  It was the first time away from Henna and he did fine.  So did Henna!  We'll see how it goes once she actually has her new dog.
We have decided not to focus so much on balance work with the new dog.  Jeremy would have to find a dog the size of Leo if we trained the dog for balance work because Henna is so big.  We'll just be there for her like we are now if she has a seizure.  This will give Jeremy more options when picking a dog for Henna.  The dog will still have to be fairly large but not gigantic.  Jeremy is going to call us soon with a class date.  We will then travel back to Ohio for 10 days to train with the new dog.
Henna went to the orthodontist today and everyone asked where Leo was.  :(
It looks like she'll get her braces off in about 6-7 months.  They want to fill in a few more spaces.  After her appointment we had lunch at Wendy's.  Yum!  Love that Frosty!  We then headed to see her neurologist for the last increase in her VNS.  He said we would watch it for about 3 months but since we haven't seen any improvement he decided to try a new medication to add to her other ones.  It's called Vimpat.  He said they have had good results with it.  At this point we'll try anything.
It's been a long day.  Just got Henna in bed after a shower, shaved legs, clipped toe nails, and clean teeth.  Nothing more satisfying to a mother than a clean, happy, and sleeping child!
Jan




Posted by Jan at 6:14 PM

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