Girl who suffers epileptic fits when she laughs forms ‘life-saving bond’ with dog Elmo
- Millie Webb, nine, from Cheshire, was diagnosed with refractory epilepsy
- It means drugs struggle to control her seizures – of which she has 50 a day
- Heightened emotions can be a trigger and they can be deadly if on her own
- She has now forged a potentially life-saving bond with her pet dog Elmo
- He appears to be able to predict the onset of a seizure by licking her face
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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A schoolgirl who suffers from a form of epilepsy could trigger a life-threatening fit just by laughing.
Millie Webb, nine, from Cheshire, has refractory epilepsy, which means medication struggles to control her seizures.
But heightened emotions – including happiness – can trigger a fit, of which she has around 50 each day.
They can be deadly if left on her own, as a seizure could result in a serious brain injury or could cause her to choke on her own saliva.
Playing with friends, attending birthday parties and even splashing about in the family paddling pool have all triggered fits in the past.
She has now forged a potentially life-saving bond with one-year-old pet dog Elmo who has appeared to predict the onset of a fit before it happens.
Millie Webb, nine, has refractory epilepsy, which means medicine struggles to control her seizures. Heightened emotions can trigger a fit, of which she has around 50 each day. But her family’s pet dog Elmo appears to be able to predict an onset of a fit before it happens
Doctors have been left baffled by Millie’s ‘unique’ form of epilepsy as medication doesn’t seem to help control the seizures which present themselves in a variety of forms
Father-of-five Stuart Webb, 45, said: ‘Having lots of fun, such as having a fantastic time playing with her friends at a party, and laughing can trigger a seizure.
‘When she was younger it was easier as she didn’t want to be out and about but now she wants to play out in the streets with her friends and live life to the full.
‘Sometimes we just want her to sit and watch TV but she loves the outdoors and wants to be outside with her friends on her bike and her roller skates.’
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Doctors have been left baffled by Millie ‘unique’ form of epilepsy as medication doesn’t appear to help control her seizures.
Mr Webb said: ‘Millie is under a specialist team at Alder Hey and also has support from a local epilepsy nurse – they’re absolutely fantastic.
‘The doctors are completely amazed at the various seizures she has.
When Millie was asleep on the sofa, Elmo suddenly climbed up and began to lick her face. Linda tried to shoo him off but the next they knew she had gone into a fit (pictured with her father Stuart, mother Linda and Elmo and her mother, Cookie)
Mr Webb added: ‘It was the first time we’d seen Elmo alert us to it before the seizure.’ Her family now want to harness Elmo’s talents and transform her into a seizure assistance dog
‘She can have anything from a few seconds of absence right through to tonic-clonic convulsive fits.’
Millie has tried 12 different types of medication over the last five years since symptoms first appeared but none of them had any impact on the number or type of seizures she has.
Linda said: ‘Millie is amazing, she doesn’t stop. She has this amazing strength and doesn’t let the epilepsy get her down.
‘As soon as she’s able to get up after a seizure she does – she just wants to be normal – and as much as we can we try not to stop her.
When Millie was in a paddling pool this summer and had a fit, Elmo ran to the rescue and dragged her out.
WHAT IS REFRACTORY EPILEPSY?
Epileptic fits are sometimes not controlled with standard medications – known as refractory epilepsy.
About one in three sufferers of the condition will go on to develop it – mostly as adults.
Cells in the brain, known as neurons, conduct electrical signals and communicate with each other in the brain using chemical messengers.
During a seizure, there are abnormal bursts of neurons firing off electrical impulses, which can cause the brain and body to behave strangely.
The severity of seizures can differ from person to person.
Some people simply experience an odd feeling with no loss of awareness, or may have a ‘trance-like’ state for a few seconds or minutes, while others lose consciousness and have convulsions.
And when she goes into a convulsive seizure, her wailing noises draw the dog’s attention.
He rushes over to lick her face in a bid to stimulate her and bring her round. It also helps to remove excess saliva produced and prevents her from choking.
In June, when Millie was asleep on the sofa, Elmo suddenly climbed up and began to lick her face.
Linda tried to shoo him off but the next they knew she had gone into a fit.
Mr Webb added: ‘It was the first time we’d seen Elmo alert us to it before the seizure.’
Her family are now desperate to harness Elmo’s talents by finding a trainer who can transform her into a fully-fledged seizure assistance dog.
They have been advised to contact their local training centre but have yet to have any luck.
Mrs Webb said: ‘Elmo doesn’t need to be trained in how to pick up on seizures, she already has that, she just needs the proper training to alert us.’
‘If Elmo was trained she could go anywhere with her and be even more of a reassuring presence.
‘We think Elmo’s got the gift to help Millie – we just need someone with the experience to teach her.’
To support Elmo’s training visit https://www.gofundme.com/training-elmo-for-millie-2up4khxh
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