Henna's Journey...: Sno and Alerting

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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Monday, September 10, 2012

Sno and Alerting

Here's an update on Henna and Sno...

Henna has been having seizures but not the intensity or length they were. I have not seen any drop seizures but she now has different kinds, or should I say they present differently. She had 12+ today at school. They last about 5-10 seconds and Henna is coherent. This has scared her because she feels them and doesn’t know what to do. She said it feels like someone is kicking her head and she also has a side smile similar to palsy. That’s been what I watch for. If you didn’t know it you wouldn’t catch the seizure and only think she had a weird smile. Henna will also start playing with her retainer during the seizure. I think this is a nervous reaction. She has had the same jerking movements and noises like a grand mal but it’s only lasted seconds. Just like the beginning of a grand mal. I have also seen one of her regular, checked out, seizure with jerking arm movement.

So you can see we’re still trying to figure out what’s going to happen. At least she hasn’t dropped and hurt herself. She’s still going to need someone to look out for her. Sno has been alerting after she “checks” Henna. When Sno checks she goes up to Henna and smells her mouth or ear. If Henna is going to have a seizure or has had a seizure Sno will lick profusely on her mouth or ear and not stop. We are also prompting her to bark when this happens. The problem has been that Henna sits in a chair at school and Sno is on the floor. When Henna has a seizure the scent will rise and Sno will catch it when it falls which is usually after the seizure has started. Now that the seizures are short they are finished before Sno gets the whiff. That’s why getting Sno to “check” Henna frequently is imperative.

I am also getting better at watching Sno’s behaviors. I’m so used to watching Henna but it’s Sno I have to watch. When Henna had a headache the other day Sno wouldn’t leave her alone. She checked her, alerted, and then followed with a bark. I was perplexed because I didn’t see a seizure but Henna then told me she had a headache. Sno will get antsy when Henna isn’t feeling well and will follow her around. The bond is getting stronger and as it does I anticipate Sno will start alerting more and watch Henna better. We have to remember that Sno is still just over a year old. It amazes me the discipline she has at school at just a year old. Every once in a while when it’s just Sno and I walking in the hallway she will do a skip and start to pull at her leash to play. Gotta love it!

We rode the bus for the first time today and Sno did great. On and off the bus without a hitch.

Tomorrow we go for a follow-up with Henna’s neurosurgeon and I’ll ask about the new seizures. Henna’s incision is almost healed but is still itchy. When I pull her hair into a ponytail you can’t see the incision. I'm really please with the way the incision looks. It's nice and thin.

Henna's had a few more seizures since we've been home. She's now settled on the couch watching Charlotte's Web. One of our favorites!

Have a great week.

Jan

Sno sitting by her girl.