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, March 25, 2013

Henna's magical Disney vacation!

Our drive to Florida was a breeze!  We left at about 4:00 am on the 17th and got to our resort in 12 hours.  A few stops for food and to let Sno out but that was it.  Sno and Henna traveled like pros.  We arrived about 2 hours after Adam, Becky and the boys got there.  It was so wonderful to see everyone.  We settled in then Becky, Henna, and I went and got food.  


Our first day in Florida was spent at Sea World.  Sno was intrigued with the Manta rays.  Henna and Levi were anxious to pet them.  Henna has NO fear!  We enjoyed the dolphin show and the seal and walrus show. Henna was sure the seal was Slappy from "Slappy and the Stinkers" movie.





"Slappy" splashed a man and got him all wet.  The kids loved that.  Sno was great while around all of the animals.


We realized that although the trainers got into the water with the dolphins they did NOT get into the water with the killer whales.  There was a lot more filler in the performances by other performers.


Henna and Elijah had fun on the rides at Animal Kingdom the second day.  Sno was spooked by the roller coasters.  She acted like she wanted to chase it but was very anxious when Henna went to ride on it.  She was happy to see her exit from the coaster.

Sno wanted to play with the birds running around free and saw this squirrel she tried to chase.  She really missed our cats!

A hug from Sully!
Henna met Goofy and Pluto and Sno did not know what to think about Pluto.  We ended up running into Pluto throughout the day and each time Sno had the same cautious reaction.

While I waited for Henna to get off a ride I stood by a rail overlooking the Gibbon apes.  The females are white and males are black.  There were no apes on the side we were standing on.  One by one they came to our side to check out Snoball.  Sno had been in a down and quiet.  There was one mother with a 3 week old baby clinging to her.  It was very exciting to see.

The Red Panda bat was huge and quite a sight hanging upside down in the sun.  Henna was excited about the ostrich eggs we saw on a safari trip at Animal Kingdom.



The shooting game on the Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios was a hit.

Sno taking a rest while Henna eats a Mickey ice cream bar.


Henna loves Beauty and the Beast and totally enjoyed the show.  She sang along as if she were part of the cast.


Henna with brother Adam and nephew Elijah.                             Magic Kingdom!
Sno laid in the bottom of the boat while we toured It's a Small World.
One of Henna's favorite rides was the cars.  She really thought she was driving.  I told her to put the pedal to the metal and he would giggle and swerve all over.  I was thankful the cars were on tracks!

Levi after a long day...


When we got back to the resort we saw some sky writing.  We thought it may be someone proposing to his gal but we were pleasantly surprised to see "LOVE GOD".


Henna remembered the dinosaur ride from when she was three.  She went on it over and over again.
Sno watching for Henna to come off the ride                   Henna trying to look like the dinosaur.

                                                           Sno running into Pluto again!
Adam, Becky, Elijah, and Levi

Our last adventure was going to The Blue Man Group.  Henna and the boys loved it!!!  Check out Henna's dinosaur shirt!  Sno was a little spooked by how loud it was.  Henna had a grand mal early the next morning.  Too much stimulation and not enough sleep.

Our last day at the resort was spent swimming and having a birthday party for Levi's third b'day.  
God blessed us with a wonderful vacation! Nothing is better than being surrounded by family and making memories!



Posted by Jan at 7:43 PM

1 comment:

  1. JaniceMarch 25, 2013 at 9:10 PM

    Hi Jan.... Looks like everyone had a relaxing, fun vacation. Boy, that Sno is really something. She just loves Henna, doesn't she?

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