Henna's Journey...: Getting better...

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, July 31, 2012

Getting better...

We got home from Ohio late Sat. night. Henna was exhausted so I put her to bed then came downstairs to deal with introductions. Jonas was in his crate so he barked at Sno. My territorial boy. Leo came right up to her as if they were long lost buddies. Sno was SO excited. I took them outside and they ran a bit then I put Sno in Henna's room in her crate. She continued to bark and wake Henna up but finally settled down. Chris and I went through mail and started laundry. We got to bed at 1:00 am.

Morning came too soon on Sunday! Henna was up with Sno and she was running around the house like she had ants in her pants. She was excited about our two birds and jumped up on the cages giving the birds a fright.

I put her on her leash, took her outside, and fed everyone. She didn't want to eat. Jonas, our German Shepherd, accepted her once he came out of his crate.

All day Sunday was putting Sno in place, a down, and trying to get her to calm down. Our diva cat, Luna, came up to her which pacified her for a minute. The mystery of a cat was gone for an second. Sno wanted more and barked and chased her. Luna did take a swipe at Sno which put her at a safe distance on following pursuits after Luna. Ha! Luna is tough and will put Sno in her place.

It's funny to watch Leo as I give Sno commands. He does everything. That's my boy. We were practicing seizure work and Leo started barking, which in turn got Sno barking. Leo is in tune with Henna's body language and can spot a seizure right when she has one. Sno has been preoccupied and hasn't done much since we came home. She did alert once while Henna was on the couch but I didn't see Henna have a seizure after that. I might have missed it.

Henna is squirting Sno with water when she barks. She's only barking at the cats. Sno met our neighbors yesterday and initiated them by doing her business on their lawn. Luckily she's so cute you can't get angry at her! She was spooked by a utility post so we checked that out and all was fine. She is getting it.

Henna and I went out and ran errands and Sno was perfect. The guy at the Dairy Queen tried to get us to leave but I told him Sno was a service dog and he gave me a look and walked away.

Henna's surgeon called yesterday and said that they have approved to have Sno with Henna in ICU after her surgery. Usually they don't let them in until after they are moved out of ICU. My vet just needs to provide a letter stating Sno is in good health. This should be calming for Henna since she usually comes out of anesthesia like a grumpy old man.

Henna has her pre-op appt. on Thursday then we have to be at Children's Hospital, in DC, at 5:30 am on Monday the 6th for Henna's surgery.

Prayers are appreciated for Sno's continued adjustment, alerting for Henna's seizures, and for Henna's upcoming surgery.

Blessings,

Jan

Sno checking Luna out.