St. Jude patient Stories: Kiki
Everywhere Keatan, “Kiki,” goes, her four-legged friend, Asher Lux, is sure to follow. Asher Lux is Kiki’s service dog who is trained to detect changes in her heart rate and notify her when she is about to have a headache or seizure. The English Cream Golden Retriever is still fine-tuning his skills but already has been an immense help to his charge as she goes about her routines, which include medical appointments, home school and dance class. “From the start, his focus was on her, and we truly believe he already knew he was meant for her and what his job was,” said Kiki’s mom, Jenna. The idea for a service dog was sparked at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® where Kiki is a patient and where she has been visited by therapy dogs. At 10 years old, Kiki was diagnosed with brain stem glioma after struggling with severe headaches and suffering a seizure where she lost consciousness. Soon after, she developed hydrocephalus and had to undergo emergency brain surgery in her home state of North Carolina. She was then referred to St. Jude and received treatment. “Walking through those doors the first time is a feeling that is so hard to explain. You are terrified, your heart is breaking in pieces as you hold your child’s hand, and yet in those moments and all that come after, it is like someone is reaching out and wrapping you into a hug. Letting you know it will all be OK. They’ve got you,” Kiki’s mom Jenna said of St. Jude. Kiki is home now but returns to St. Jude every few months for checkups and continues treatment for seizures and headaches, her mom said. “I am forever thankful for St. Jude. I feel safe and understood there,” Kiki said.
