You and Roux

Prologue

Harry was incredibly nervous during the drive to his audition site.
-
Two and a half years ago, Harry was driving home from a school dance and got hit head on by a drunk driver. The drunk driver died on impact and Harry was knocked unconscious. Harry's twin, Edward, who was asleep in the back row, died in the hospital 3 days after the accident due to severe internal damage. After 11 days in a medically induced coma due to swelling on the brain, Harry woke up.

His mother, Anne, was briefed on what to expect moving forward if/when Harry woke up and was allowed to go home. After testing, there was severe brain swelling that would probably impact his speech, movement, and comprehension. Doctors also warned her that Harry would most likely have panic and/or anxiety attacks. During the initial surgery to stabilize internal bleeding Harry's pancreas was severely damaged and while still in the coma it was determined that he would be type 1 diabetic.

Anne was by his bedside the whole time and jumped up when Harry's eyes started fluttering open. He groaned and tried to fully open his eyes but it was too bright.

After waking up and multiple tests it was concluded that Harry suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

After 4 more weeks in the hospital, Harry was moved to a rehab center. He was starting to recover and had gotten back almost all of his ability to speak and the therapists were starting to work on movement, fine motor skills and muscle control.

After 5 months in rehab, Harry was diagnosed with post traumatic epilepsy and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It was recommended that he get a service dog for many reasons, not just the epilepsy and PTSD, but also to help him regulate his blood sugar.
Roux, pronounced Roo, was brought in 3 weeks later. Roux had been trained specifically for seizure alert and response but would help in many other aspects of his new way of living. Due to weakness on his left side, Roux was trained to help him balance and support him if Harry tripped. She was also trained for anxiety and PTSD as Harry suffered from both due to the crash and his extensive time in the hospital. Alerting to high and low blood sugars was also very important. Due to Harry's TBI often he would not realize his blood sugar was out of range so having Roux alert was very helpful.

It took another 3 weeks before Anne and the team of doctors felt comfortable having Harry go home. While in rehab his parent's house was modified and his bedroom was moved to the main level.

-

Almost exactly a year after he returned home, Harry was on his way to his audition. Roux, a three year old female red standard poodle, was sitting on the floor boards in between his legs. Roux refocused from her half asleep state as Harry's anxiety increased. Anne noticed that Roux was doing deep pressure therapy (DPT). She had placed her front legs on Harry's thighs and was leaning her body on them. The weight on his thighs subconsciously made Harry's start taking deeper breaths.

Anne looked over briefly, "It's going to be ok Haz, the worst that could happen is you don't make it then we go back home. But if you do make it only through to the live shows your name will be out there and maybe you can make something out of this passion."

Harry knew his mom was right. As of then, he had not planned for his future since he wasn't able to graduate high school. Music and singing were to account for his recovery not mentally breaking him. Music helped keep his spirits up while recovering and singing helped him regain his speech quickly. Now he only slurred his speech when sleepy or during an episode.

Knowing that his mom was right did not help the fact that she reminded him that he literally had nothing to lose. Like absolutely nothing.

"Gee , thanks for the reminder mum. It's this or nothing."