In June of 2005, Ellen Rogers got the call every parent fears. Her 22-year-old son, Ned, had been in a car crash. He'd suffered brain injuries and was paralyzed from the neck down. The Rogers' lives changed in an instant, but they survived the ordeal, thanks to Kasey, an Argentinean capuchin monkey trained to assist the disabled.Read more about Ned and Kasey here.Rogers recounts the touching story in her new book, "Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle," which hits stores this week. Rogers recently talked with Paw Nation about Ned, Kasey and life with a monkey.
"It was really something to see how Kasey was able to change my son's life. She's a real godsend for him. Just getting to the mailbox for him is a major undertaking. He lives in a fairly isolated world and she fills a giant void for him. She loves him, she grooms him and she looks after him.
The thing she does that we find astounding is that she's able to relieve him of the horrible nerve pains that wrack his body. People with spinal cord injuries often suffer from nerve pain. Kasey seemed to understand this. If he is in a lot of pain, she'll run over to him and lie on whatever it is that's hurting on his body. She'll lie there, curled up into a ball, very still on his body. You can see the pain start to leave his face. His brow will even out, and then he begins to smile. She's very intuitive. She runs right to him and will lie on him and he will calm down."
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