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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Sunday, October 24, 2010

4 Paws Training Day #6

Henna started the morning off with a few seizures and Leo barked once prompted.  I also practiced a seizure and he really barked then.  I guess my fake seizure looks more pronounced than Henna's. We reviewed our basic obedience work today.  Henna had a seizure during class and
Leo did bark, again once I prompted him.  It's going to take time. 
Some of the dogs worked on tethering.  This is where a child is tethered to the harness of the dog so if the child starts to wander off he can only go a certain distance.  It gives the parent a piece of mind and allows that parent to shop or go out without the worry of their child disappearing.  The dog will go into a down position when the parent is shopping, watching another child play a sport, or maybe on the beach.  The child can't really pull the dog so the child stays close and within view of the parent.

 DJ assumed the role of the child pulling on the tether.
 Here DJ is working on "over" where Leo will lay over the lap.  This is used for behavior disruption.  Some kids need heavy pressure in order to calm down and this "over" helps with that.  Leo does this to Henna every time they are in the car together.  Not to disrupt behavior but to be close to her.  Sometimes Henna gets upset but has gotten used to it.
 Here DJ is "lapping".  This is when you tell the dog to "lap" and he puts his head on your lap.   This helps to settle the child.
 We learned how to have the dog give kisses to help disrupt negative behaviors.  It's hard to be upset when a dog is giving you kisses.  We were given peanut butter and  we put some on Henna's cheek and Leo licked her.  Wherever the peanut butter is placed the dog's nose will follow and the tongue will find it.  Voila...Kisses! LOL.
Leo is very tired here.

 We worked the mall again today and Leo did great.  Henna held onto the handle and leash much easier today.  Leo wasn't pulled off balance as badly.  Last night we stopped at PetSmart and I bought some grooming items.  Leo's sniffer went CRAZY in there so I got in and out as fast as I could!  I combed out Leo and he looked so handsome until DJ roughed up his hair and gave him a Mohawk.  He may be groomed but he always looks like a stray dog who needs a home.  Ha!  Just got to love him.
We ended our time at the mall by getting some candy. Chris will never pass a gumball machine!
Henna and her buddy Ryan playing cars.

We moved into a 2 bedroom which gives us more room.  We were on top of each other in a 1 bedroom.  Maybe we won't kill each other now that we have some space.  Whew!  Look forward to another Henna & Leo blog tomorrow. 
Jan
Posted by Jan at 4:22 PM

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