A week or two before 4 Paws sends the kids their dog match the class starts begging for them to tell us early. It's a fun practice that keeps everyone excited and busy. I wrote this as one of my begging poems:
Twas two weeks before class and all through each crate, not a dog was sleeping, they were staying up late.
The leashes were hung on the hooks with care, in hopes that the dogs would be going somewhere.
The puppies were nestled all snug in their box, with visions of chewing on little one's socks.
The Girlz in their jammies and Yoda in her gown, had just started matching when they heard a loud sound!
Karen ran in, "Send out those matches. Henna and Alyssa have terrible rashes! They've waited too long, they've contracted a bug. The only cure is their service dog's hug".
Could the Howl"oween Helpers have some good news? An early surprise or even some clues?
"I think it's time we let them know," said one smart dog named Laramie. "That's a great idea, let's get busy", said his best friend Dee Dee.
"Now Elfie! Now Monkey! Now Deisel and Carly! On Gidget! On Smores! On Aramis and Miley!
Get your letters ready, we're sending them tonight. Now type away, type away, make sure you spell right.
As night became day, the dogs finished their work, the letters were sent by the GIrlz and their clerk.
When Henna and Alyssa woke up the next day, they checked their email and what did it say?
"Your match is enclosed with a hug from your dog. It's a little early but we read on your blog that you had been sick and we want you all well, so when you get here you'll be feeling quite swell!"
"It worked!" yelled Henna, as she wiped off her face. She had created a rash with red marker and paste.
You may view the dogs in training (one will be Henna's dog!) on their page.
http://www.4pawsdogs.org/in_training.htm
The dog is usually one year or older so any dog under a year is for upcoming classes.
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.
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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