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

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Henna's 13 years old today!

Shay...Henna's MY TWINN doll.  I found her on ebay and thought she resembled Henna.  It's uncanny how much their faces look alike when they are side by side.  Henna has never been a doll girl but had asked for one recently.  She used to take a doll and reenact her abuse when she was young. 

Henna's bus driver and aid gave her a super girl outfit.  So appropriate since she eats and breathes Spiderman.

We hooked up her Xbox Kinect and all she wants to do is dance to Lady Gaga, Poker Face.  This is going to be great exercise for Henna.  She needs more cardio and she loves music and dancing.

 All Henna wanted was a vanilla cake and vanilla ice cream.  She says, "banilla".  Still uses a "b" for the "v" sound.  A little residual Spanish.
 Carter and Henna blew noise makers until they wore them out.
Showing off her moves before bedtime.  She was tired!
Tomorrow we're going to the circus.  She is so excited.  We haven't been for years.  Mica and Carter are going too.  We have VIP seats thanks to a friend who couldn't go.

Henna is still having numerous seizures  daily.  Leo actually alerted to two of her seizures in the last day.  Leo is now my new best friend.  He follows me all over.  He begs for food, wants to sleep in my bed, and chases our cat around the house.  What a life!  Tomorrow we will start having Henna wear a tank top under her shirt so if she has a seizure we can send it to 4 Paws for training. The process begins again.  We will have to wait until right before our class date before we know what dog Henna receives.  Just like last time!  I was hoping they would just tell us. 
Chris is in Japan for 2 weeks and when he gets back I'll get ready to go to my niece's wedding in Hawaii.  I'm going for a week by myself.  I repeat...by myself!  R & R finally!  Chris is sending me out first class.  Love my honey!
Have a great weekend.
Jan
Posted by Jan at 4:57 PM

1 comment:

  1. SusanMay 15, 2011 at 6:35 AM

    Happy Birthday Henna from Alyssa and Cassidy (Walt and Susan, too!)!! You are really growing up! Hope you enjoy your doll!! Jan, do you have a class date yet?? I will be following your new journey as you are following ours! It is amazing the journeys our special kids take us on!! Prayers, Love, and Hugs to you all and give a special smile and hug to "Mr. Chris" from Alyssa!! :-)

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)