Many of you have asked for more of Makayla’s story, her journey with and healing from epilepsy. It is difficult to condense 3.5 years into one post, but we will try.
First, I would like to share a blog that I posted roughly 3 months after her initial diagnosis. This was after the first few months of begging God to heal her. We had Pastor pray for her at the altar. We had friends lay hands on her and anoint her for healing. Of course we were wanting an immediate healing, not a progressive healing.
I have been dealing with a lot lately and trying to figure things out; I still do not have all the answers!
For many, Christmas brought joy and happiness. For me, it brought pain, sorrow, and anger. As we were about to open presents Christmas morning, my husband and I witnessed one of our children having a seizure. It was the first time we had seen it, but found out later that this was not her first. Needless to say, our happiness and even some of our joy had disappeared.
As the day continued, we witnessed roughly 6 more seizures – Not an easy task as a parent. Each time my heart broke. I hid my tears as I comforted my little girl. I reassured her as I questioned the exact same things she feared. I encouraged her that God was with her while I wondered, “Where are you, God?” I reminded her of His faithfulness, His comfort, His love as I prayed in anger and in tears. I questioned Him- “After all we have done for you, why? Why us? Why her? Did we do something to deserve this? Are you trying to teach us something? What did we do wrong? How can you be so cruel?”
I tried to give myself the same answers I had given others in the past when they were having to endure difficulties. Those answers were not enough. I didn’t want to hear them. They did not make me feel better; in fact, they made me feel worse.
Fortunately, we have a big, powerful, and loving God. He can take our anger. He hears and listens.
“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress” – Psalm 102:1-2, Psalms 107:13
What???? Again-
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress” -Psalms 107:13
He saved them from their distress. He didn’t necessarily take away their problems, but he took away the distress. Likewise, my daughter has yet to be healed of her epilepsy, but he has taken away my distress. He has given me peace and joy – a peace that he is in control and a joy that he loves us no matter what! Furthermore, we cannot control God with our actions. Our goodness does not control his actions. Our sufferings do not always mean that God is displeased with us. We live in an imperfect world. We are fortunate to have a loving God who walks bedside us, especially when we are faced with things that we cannot handle on our own! He gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding! He gives us hope! He is our Father!
—-End of blog 2010——–
The seizures were mild, not grand mal- sometimes barely detectable. She would have numerous seizures throughout the day. She could tell when they were coming (auras), they were short (less than a minute) and she remained conscious through them all.
After her first EEG, they were able to pinpoint the area of the brain where they were occurring and discern the best medicine. The meds worked wonderfully for us. She has remained seizure free since. However, roughly a year and half of being on Trileptol, she began to have some red flags (small peaks in her EEG and auras with no seizure). So after another EEG it was confirmed that the medicine was still preventing the seizures, but that the potential seizures were changing, possibly worsening and causing the auras to return. They changed her medicine to the all -encompassing Keppra.
This was our only medicine change we had to endure. By endure, I mean living through the increased mood changes and tantrums of anger. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t our little girl. However, it successfully stopped the auras and underlying seizure activity. In fact, last year (2012) she had her first normal/stable EEG while on this med. No red flags!
Fast forward to this May- Makayla had her annual appointment with her neurologist. He felt that with her success on meds, normal EEGs and having been seizure free for 3 years, it was time to try taking her off the meds and see where we were at. What? Are you kidding me? We were planning on moving to the mission field in just a few months. This was something that weighed heavily on our minds as we prayed and searched for a place that would still offer medical help. In fact, one of our “contingencies” for God was that her epilepsy had to continue to be controlled or we wouldn’t go. (I know, who throws contingencies at God? Who do we think we are?)
Well, he answered with more than we asked. He truly does know how to love us better than we know how to love our children. He completely healed her. We took her off her meds, and her EEG was normal and stable. Praise God!