TEXAS – Glen Schallman, sadly, suffers from three separate brain diseases, the combination of which cause frequent seizures. He has been diagnosed with polymicrogyria and unilateral schizencephaly and both of these involve malformations of the brain – and a type of brain tumor known as hypothalamic hamartoma. Obviously, seizures can always be dangerous, but when they occur while a person is sleeping, they can interfere with breathing and quickly turn deadly.
Thankfully for Glen, he now has a furry safeguard against that worst-case scenario.
Glen adopted Blake – a one-year-old black cat – from a PetSmart, which is located in Fort Worth, Texas. And though Blake has never received any formal training at all, he now acts as a bona fide therapy animal, even biting Glen’s toes to wake him up whenever a seizure occurs at night.
What’s more, the cat has also reportedly developed the ability to miraculously sense when a seizure is about to come on.
Schallman is now believed to be the oldest living person with this particular rare combination of brain conditions, thanks in no small part to his beloved Blake, whom he once rescued at an adoption event and is now rescuing him back on a daily basis.
