It has amazed me how many children I have learned of that have suddenly started to have seizures just like our Jonathan did. We have also had so many questions asked about what happened to Jonathan and what we did for him. It was difficult to talk about what was happening at the time- mainly because everyone either had an easy solution, was judgemental of our actions, a horrible story for me, or they wanted to tell us what we did to cause the problem. I know every child and every situation is unique. But to answer some questions, I'd like to share our testimony with you.
Yes, his episodes just seemed to start out of the blue one day. (No, they did not follow any vaccinations.) At first I thought he was playing a new game with me. But then his eyes would seem to glaze over and his chin would drop to his chest. His arms started becoming rigid and extending out in front of his body. It became clear he was not aware of what was happening. As hard as I tried, I could never catch an episode on video or the camera for Eddie to see.
Then the following weekend while Eddie was home, he witnessed what was happening. The episodes began to change too. They were lasting longer and Jonathan would start to shake or tremble. By the time the weekend was over, he was also falling face forward whenever the seizure started.
Monday morning, I called our pediatrician. He immediately saw us and started scheduling tests and procedures at Children's Hospital. Even though we really did not have to wait long for the first test, it seemed like forever. Jonathan required constant attention, since he was getting pretty banged up and bruised from the episodes. Thankfully, he never lost consciousness. When they were over, he sometimes seemed frightened but for the most part he would return to his previous activity.
But as time passed, we noticed he was regressing in several developmental areas. He had just learned to tot around the house, which he no longer wanted to do. Probably because of falling so much. Nor was he using simple words that he had been saying, like "ma-ma, "da-da," or "brudder." He totally stopped using sign language.
After an EEG, our pediatrician believed we needed to see the pediatric neurologist before performing an MRI (thankfully, since it would require sedation). In the meantime while waiting for our appointment date, we had to daily deal with the recurring seizures which were happening 4-5 times an hour.
During our wait, a dear friend mentioned a naturopathic doctor here in our town. I was excited to learn she had finished her training and was practicing a naturopathic treatment that I had successfully used in the past. When I contacted her one evening (in tears after Jonathan had a scary episode), I was thrilled that she was willing to work us into her schedule that week. The EDS test revealed very similar results in the same area of the brain as the EEG... except it led us to believe the issues could be caused by a bacterial infection. Eddie and I decided to start homeopathic and herbal treatments since there were no side effects. Couldn't do any harm while we waited for our appointment with the neurologist.
That weekend, two precious things occurred. One was that my sweetheart baptized me in the lake at my parent's home. I knew God had been speaking to my heart that I needed to be obedient and be "re-baptized." As a 9 year old little girl I had been baptized because I was suppose to. Not because I understood what it meant or in obedience to scripture- but because my pastor told me I should. Secondly, Eddie and I knew we needed to follow scripture and obey James 5:14. "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." So after four of us were baptized, the elders of our church fellowship anointed our sweet little boy with oil and ask Jehovah to heal Jonathan Thomas of whatever was happening to cause his body to have seizures.
That week our appointment with the pediatric neurologist at Children's arrived. We decided to keep the appointment and see what her council would be. We were all three thrilled with the care and input she had for us. After a very thorough exam, her conclusion was that she could either treat the results of the EEG or she told us she could treat the patient that had presented to her office. Her opinion was to treat the patient. In that case, she did not need to intervene. Praise the Lord! We left her office rejoicing and so humbled.
Here we are 8 weeks later with a healthy, happy, very active 16 month old who is running, jabbering away, into everything, signing... When he came to me last week with the toilet brush in his mouth, I had to giggle (after my scream of shock) and thank God for His healing hand. For the advise, expertise, and care of good physicians. For praying friends and family. And for the incomprehensible love and care of a Heavenly Father. I'm thankful to be a child of the King!
There is something about week 36 in my mind that starts counting down instead of counting up... so, our count down has officially begun. Here's what is happening.
