Trip to the zoo...
Today was Military Appreciation Day at the Columbus Zoo. Because of that, we were able to get in for free!! Who can pass that up?? It really wasn't too hot today but there were so many people there. I have never seen so many people at a zoo before (and it wasn't even the weekend yet). This was Blitzen's first trip to a zoo. I was a little nervous because I have heard many stories about service dogs at the zoo! Sometimes the caged animals don't appreciate the dogs' freedom. But, Blitzen did beautifully!! Although, I am not sure he even saw any animals. I think all he saw were legs!!!
I ended up renting a stroller, at least for Eli to ride in. As it turned out, all 3 kids rode in the stroller!! I got a good workout today. I am so glad I had it though. Hannah really faded in the afternoon. I am not sure if it's the new medication, the heat, the people, or all of the above. She almost fell asleep while I attempted to push them through the zoo.
Soooo many people asked to pet him. (I think they thought we were part of the zoo!! lol) I got the the point I said "sorry, he's working." I don't usually do that, but we would not have gotten anywhere today. Most people were very kind, but there were the usual few, rude (very rude) people.
Our ride home was a different story though. Hannah was so tired and started getting very agitated. She became more and more upset and started having a complex partial seizure. She was perseverating on one thing over and over. Then she became very aggressive...towards me....while I'm driving!!!! uh, not good. So I pulled over and got her rescue med out. She took it, but it really didn't help much. I wish I would of had the Versed with me. For the next several hours, she really struggled with gaining control. I was able to catch some of it on video. I really want to show her doctor's the extremes she has....
How this journey started....
Hannah was born prematurely at 34 weeks gestation. She was a relatively healthy preemie; initially having difficulty maintaining body temperature and needing to grow. She weighed 4 pounds 9 ounces at birth. When she was four months old she began to drool, non stop. We were told the first year she was "teething." At 18 months old, we really started searching for reasons of why her shirt was always soaking wet. We saw various specialists who always sent us to another specialist, saying "everything looks okay." She spent years in oral motor/feeding therapy to help her not to drool. It wasn't until she was four years old and in preschool that we started to get some answers. Her preschool teacher commented one day that she wasn't reponding when her name was called. I took this information to her pediatrician who then orderd an EEG, "just to rule it out." Much to our shock and amazement, the results showed, she was having seizures. That is the day our journey REALLY began. Once she began taking seizure medication the drooling almost stopped completely. (She will still drool to this day when she is having seizure activity). Since then, it has been a roller coaster; countless medications and medication changes. She has never really reponded well to any medication.
About two years after she was diagnosed with epilepsy, the doctors noticed that her blood pressure was running high. After many tests, she was diagnosed with hypertension. We still are not sure why, but her cardiologist feels her blood vessels are thicker than normal.
About this same time, we also began looking into why Hannah was such a horrible sleeper. She would thrash, talk, move every which way, during her sleep. The sleep studies revealed that she has alveolar hypoventilation sydrome, which means she has too much carbon dioxide in her system when she sleeps. To help this, she wears a BI-PAP at night. This has been monumental in giving her more effective and quality of sleep.
Every day is a challenge for Hannah and our family as a whole. Blitzen has been an absolutely wonderful addition. She calms herself sometimes just by petting and loving on him. He has been trained in behavior disruptions and will sometimes be able to stop a meltdown from getting out of control.
It has been extra hard on the whole family since daddy is deployed to Iraq. He has been gone since January 09 and will gone until Jan 2010. We get to talk with him by phone and on the web cam; which is nice, but not the same!! Blitzen has helped to make his absence go just a little smoother....
2 comments:
Outtings of any kind are always hard on Trev! We took him to the aquarium on Sunday...poor kiddo...just didn't have as much fun as I thought. Course...he was still under the weather...but still...
Never crossed my mind that people would ask to pet Blitzen! But I guess it's just natural. And we totally need to write a little book of good answers for the rude people!
Anyway...I hope you have an effective visit with your neuro. I know how hard it can be to explain adequately what we're seeing.
...danielle
So happy to see your blog Marcia!! :) I just wanted to note that Natalie has really gotten into learning about service dogs after reading a book we read last year called "Follow My Leader". Have you ever read it?
Post a Comment