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 17, 2012

Henna Meets Snoball! First day at 4 Paws...

We arrived in Ohio late afternoon on Monday.  Henna wanted to know where we were going and when she was getting her dog the whole drive...8 hours!  She was relentless.  I did finally get her to watch a movie after we crossed into Ohio.  We made it in time for dinner where we met up with some other families picking up their dog.  Henna met Devon, 6, and they became fast friends.  Devon is a bundle of energy!  He came in and out of our room, ate popcorn with Henna, and was super cute.  I finally got Henna to bed around 8:00.  She was exhausted.
Henna woke up throughout the night to ask me where we were going.  Finally after 6:00 am we got up, got ready for the day, and headed to breakfast giving Chris some extra time to sleep.  We saw some of the other 4 Paws families so we had breakfast with them.
We left for 4 Paws a little early to drive through town to check things out.  As we passed the Subway where we turn to go to 4 Paws, Henna started yelling that we had passed it.  I was surprised that she remembered the road!  She was so upset that we ended up going to 4 Paws early.  Other families were there too.  Henna immediately went to Snoball's crate and Sno barked and licked her fingers through the cage.  She is SOOOOOO sweet.  She is small and her coat is beautiful.  She always looks like she has a smile on her face.  :)  Jeremy, the head trainer, said she has a great nose.
I had given Henna some allergy medicine before the class and she wasn't the best participant. She kept asking if we could take Sno home.
We spent time getting to know the dog and also worked on basic commands and obedience.  Sno did well but kept wanting to get up from a "down".  While Henna was on the floor Sno started to lick her ears and mouth.  This is what dogs do when they smell a seizure coming on.  Jeremy saw it and noted the time it happened.  An hour and 10 minutes later Henna had a seizure.  Jeremy said that we need to watch Sno and track every time she licks Henna's ears and mouth and also what time Henna has a seizure after Sno licks her.  Leo never did that.  I was super excited to see Sno responded as she did.  Maybe she will be able to sense Henna's seizures before they happen.  So many dogs can.  Leo alerts AFTER Henna has started a seizure.
We didn't get to take Sno home today.  Jeremy wants us all to get the crate and all the dog's things ready for tomorrow.  Henna was naturally disappointed.  We went by Petsmart and got a few more toys then went back to the hotel.  We had dinner I got Henna ready for bed.  Henna has a hard time with transition and doesn't feel safe in a new place.  After a few days we should be fine.
Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes.  Tomorrow the fun will begin when we bring Sno back to the hotel!  Stay tuned...

Jan



Posted by Jan at 6:05 PM

2 comments:

  1. ErinJuly 17, 2012 at 6:17 PM

    So excited for you! My son gets his SD next month at 4 Paws so I love reading your stories!! The video is marked as private though when I try to play it :( Cheers, Erin @ Paws 4 Thor

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  2. JaniceJuly 18, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    Jan - I'm just catching up. Sno is absolutely beautiful and how wonderful that she's already picking up on a pending seizure. (Of course, my prayers continue to be that there will come a time when Henna won't have seizures.)

    Off to read about day 2.

    janice

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