AN ANEURYSM, A HOSPITAL STAY, AND A DOG CALLED OXFORD

Just out of a coma, and unable to move on her own after suffering a life-threatening ruptured brain aneurysm, Amanda Yong, 23, had a visitor to her bedside.

In early January 2017, she was three weeks into an ICU stay in Wellington Hospital, and hadn’t shown any signs of responsiveness.

Oxford the black labrador was brought into the ward by owner Rick, only just beginning his career as a therapy dog, and the nurses gently placed her hand on his smooth fur.

The second time Oxford visited the Wellington Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, Amanda was still under heavy sedation and connected to a tangle of tubes.

But as Oxford was brought to her side, she made what her nurses thought to be the first purposeful movement of her own accord, and placed a hand on Oxford’s head.

“After a few moments, I came around and gently started patting him,” Amanda said.

Now a final-year student at Victoria University, studying for a BSc in (ironically, she said) neuropsychology, and according to her doctors had made remarkable steps in her recovery.

She had no memory of meeting Oxford or of the hospital stay at all. In fact, four months of memory were missing for Amanda as a result of the brain injury and the heavy sedation she was kept under.

After first meeting Oxford, she spent another four and a half months in hospital re-learning things like eating, breathing, depth-perception and walking. Eager to get back to university, she began studying by distance while still in hospital.

A month after leaving hospital and moving back in with her parents, Oxford and Rick visited her at home.

It was the first time she remembered meeting them, and the first time Rick had heard her speak.

Oxford began life as a guide dog in Adelaide, but he had a high food drive and was easily distracted, and didn’t make the cut.

Rick adopted him through the Guide Dog Foundation when Oxford was only 13 months old, already exceedingly well-trained.

They registered as part of Canine Friends Pet Therapy, a New Zealand-wide network of people who share their friendly, well-behaved dogs with patients in hospitals, rest homes, and hospices.

At first Rick was hesitant about visiting the ICU himself, but Oxford walked the halls like an old hand.

Canine therapy is used around the world to treat people with a number of conditions and has been shown to be very effective.

Rick, Amanda’s family, Rick, and Oxford catch up regularly, and Oxford still makes weekly rounds at various care facilities, even visiting Victoria University students for stress-free study week.

Amanda’s recovery was progressing much faster than expected, and she credits some of that progress to Oxford’s company.

“I’m not sure at the time if my parents and the medical team were expecting anything much to come from the visit, but we’re all really glad now that Rick and Oxford stopped by that day.”