Service dog forecasts boy’s seizures
ELLISTON – Minutes before Owen Higgins has a life-threatening seizure, his dog knows.
The black, mixed longhair named Jigsaw makes sure to get cuddle up close to comfort the almost-5-year-old and to alert Owens’ parents, Michelle and Chris and his 9-year-old sister, Sammy.
When Owen has a particularly nasty seizure, the amount of oxygen in his blood drops drastically low. Unless his parents get Owen’s medication administered in time, he could die. Jigsaw does her best to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Saint Francis Service Dog Jigsaw bumps one of Owen Higgins' favorite toys to make it buzz, which thrills both dog and boy, sister Sammy and mother Michelle. Photo by Meg Hibbert
Owen was born with fetal hydrocephalus. Years ago, lay people called it “water on the brain.” The fluid in the brain that normally drains through the spinal column instead builds up and keeps the brain from developing and growing normally.
Although he’s had a number of surgeries including one to make his head smaller and another to install a shunt to help drain the fluid, there’s no cure for Owen’s condition, his mother says, matter-of-factly. “This problem won’t go anywhere. “Intellectually, he’s somewhere around 18 months old,” Michelle said.
Still, Owen is an unusually sweet little boy, who is growing, learning and developing his own set of problem-solving skills. Michelle teaches him American Sign Language. He is deaf as result of hydrocephalus, but they know he can hear sounds now and says “Ma-ma,” “dog,” and other words since he had a cochlear implant.
Owen giggles as his dad, Chris Higgins, tries his glasses on the 4-year-old.
This summer, he began walking. A video on the family blog shows him standing erect and striding along in his walker at the New River Valley Mall where they go for the wide-open spaces that provide Owen more exercise.
But Owen’s seizures continue to set him back, erasing words he already learned to say and sign, and forcing him to start all over again on some skills. The seizures are dangerously quiet, not like what most people think of as a big seizure or grand mal.
“He tends to be very quiet about it. Jigsaw knows before it begins, and she won’t leave him alone,” Michelle said. Recently, the dog alerted his parents by barking during the middle of the night to wake them up.
It’s vital for a parent to get to Owen to prop him up when he starts seizing because during the first few minutes if he’s lying down, he vomits and if he aspirates stomach contents, can develop pneumonia.
Alerting the family to a seizure was something Jigsaw was taught to do as part of her training at Saint Francis Service Dogs.
She was also taught the command “Help.” When she hears that, Jigsaw takes off, barking loudly, to bring back a person to provide assistance.
Even though Jigsaw has only lived with Owen and his family for four months since Saint Frances trainer Liel Hackett introduced them, the 3-year-old dog has already added more to their lives than they expected.
She frees up the parent who is tending to Owen during a seizure or something as simple as a diaper change by fetching a bag with small medical equipment, or retrieving diaper wipes for them.
“She’s saved me countless trips up and down the stairs,” Michelle said.
The dog comforts Owen by licking him when he signs by holding up his hand. When he’s hurting, he clutches Jigsaw’s jet-black fur.
And she provides a playmate for Sammy.
“She’s always ready to play,” said Sammy. “I also like the nice welcome she gives me when I come home from school.”
For the past two years, Sammy attended Tall Oaks Montessori school in Blacksburg where Michelle taught part-time. Owen went to preschool classes at Eastern Montgomery Elementary School near the family’s home in Echo Hills.
Because he’s so prone to catching germs and getting sicker than most children his age, his parents have decided the coming school year Owen will will be taught at home, where he also gets physical therapy, music therapy and other help.
Sammy is looking forward to her first year at Eastern Montgomery, where she will be a fourth-grader.
One aspect of having Jigsaw as part of the family which they did not anticipate is she gets Michelle and Chris, who is a software designer who works at home, to be outside more.
“It has made a huge difference to me,” Michelle said. “I have to walk Jigsaw several times a day. I realized I had been inside so much before she came. I feel better,” Michelle added.
Her husband, a software developer who works from home, has enjoyed having a dog in the house, too.
“I had an inside dog when I was a kid,” he added.
Bob, the family’s 12-year-old mostly Malamute mix, stays outside in his fenced yard. Now he also gets more exercise and treats when he plays with Jigsaw.
Michelle posts regular updates on her family blog, “The Amazing Owen,” and developed a detailed hydrocephalus medical site for parents of other children with the same condition, as well as a network of parents who share their stories.
Last year, the Higgins family and many of the others she brought together met up in Niagara Falls.
Owen’s family has known about his condition since Michelle, a computer programmer, was 18-weeks pregnant. When they got the diagnosis after an ultrasound, they knew nothing about the hydrocephalus. Now they are experts among parents.
“It’s not like we were given a choice,” Michelle said. “You do what you’ve got to do.”
Three pounds of Owen’s 9 pounds, 6 ounces weight when he was born was fluid in his head, she explained. “His head was gi-normous.” He was delivered by C section at Duke at 35 weeks.
Michelle was flown to Duke by helicopter while she was in labor. The early delivery was Owen’s idea, she laughed, not theirs.
All the milestones and setbacks are chronicled on the family blog, in addition to lots of pictures of Sammy and Owen, and now, Jigsaw with them.
“I wish all of our partners were keeping blogs like Michelle does,” said Niki Voudren, director of development for Saint Francis Service Dogs.
Raising and training a service dog like Jigsaw costs about $25,000, she mentioned, “and we don’t get any state or federal funds.”
Saint Francis is funded by donations. It charges families who get a service dog only $200 to cover the service dog vest, leash, crate and bed.
“There are a lot of other agencies that want you to commit to raising $14,000 minimum,” Michelle added. “We are so grateful to Saint Francis for arranging for Owen to have Jigsaw.”
The websites and blogs Michelle set up to educate other parents are the medical blog – http://www.fetalhydrocephalus.com/hydro/SIBlog/default.aspx; and the family’s blog,
http://www.softwareideas.com/Familyblog/SIBlog/default.aspx.
I am so proud of Owen and his family. Each one of them inspires me. Of course, I am so grateful to the staff at Saint Francis, whose hearts and souls go into making these matches possible. Jigsaw’s dedication to Owen, along with her desire to work, love and be loved are felt each day as she helps her family cope with daily challenges and makes the fun times even more so. I am sure if my service dog, Midas, could talk he would be bragging about his little sister Jigsaw!
Thanks Meg Hibbert for another heartwarming article!
Carol Willoughby, Co-founder & Midas
Saint Francis Service Dogs
What a wonderful article of faith, hope and courage! This family is truly blessed to have Jigsaw as a member of their family and I am sure Jigsaw feels blessed to be with Owen.
Also, we are all fortunate to have individual’s such as Liel Hackett that has the skill, knowledge and compassionate to provide such well trained service dogs such as Zigsaw.
How bout that Leil Hackett, the trainer. It is a labor of love to train these dogs. She is the big hero here, in my humble opinion. Go Leil !!!!!!!!!!!