Dana

These thoughts have been weighing on my mind for quite some time now.

I have two daughters.  Two beautiful little girls.  Both blonde.  Both with the most gorgeous smiles.  The oldest has brown eyes, the youngest blue.  Their personalities are a lot alike and yet oh so different.  They love to sing… they love to play… they love to dance.

To other’s eyes they appear “normal”, and rightfully so.  They are “normal” for the most part.  They live what appears to be normal lives, they have normal laughs, they like the same things that every “normal” child likes.  But they are far from “normal”.  You see, both my precious daughters have been blessed with a disorder called Epilepsy.

“Blessed?”, you say.  Yes, I call it blessed.  There are far worse things they could have been burdened with.  This is surely not the worst of things to have, but it is there none-the-less.  It LOOMS over us daily.  It can make the “normal” go into “chaotic” in seconds.  We have no idea when this disorder will choose to strike.  But still I say, it could be worse.  This we can live with, this we can deal with.

Epilepsy is a disorder, not a disease.  It can not be contracted, though it can be, as ours is, inherited.  This disorder was passed to my little girls by me, passed to me by my mother and to her by her father.  Someday it will possibly be passed onto my daughter’s own children, though I daily pray not.  But if it is, we can deal with it, we can live with it.

How do we deal with this disorder?  By keeping our environment controlled and staying on a routine.  It’s important that both my girls get plenty of rest, that they eat a healthy meal three times daily and drink enough fluids. That they attempt to live a “normal” life.  Pushing them beyond their limits is a no-no in our lives.  Where your child may become whiny and unruly, mine can do the same, plus end up seizing.  Keeping them calm, showing them love and “controlling” their life keeps their lives as “normal” as can be. 

I have made them aware that they are “normal” yet they are “not normal” children.  They know they have a disorder.  They know to rest when they feel tired.  To be quiet when someone is sleeping.  Not to keep on going when their mind feels exhausted.  They are aware of being careful not to fall, and especially not hitting their sweet heads.  The things “normal” parents take for granted, I have to be sure my children are careful doing.  My girls are ok with these things.  They know this is the life God has chosen for them to lead.

I am proud of my daughters.  Proud of the things they are overcoming daily.  My oldest has been off her seizure medication for almost two years now.  Her Epilepsy is controlled through routine and a safe enviroment, as well as plenty of rest.  My youngest hasn’t had a seizure in months, though there is still plenty of seizure activity and her medication is still necessary to help her lead a “normal” life.  Both of them are developmentally on track.  Both of them are growing into the most beautiful little girls.  Both of them are blessings in our families lives.

So you see, this is why I say Epilepsy, to us, is a blessing.  It has helped us to look at the “un-normal”, to accept the burdens God gives.  It has provided for us a life that without Epilepsy, would be completely “normal”.  It could be so much worse!  But this disorder we can deal with, we can LIVE with it.  And we do, everyday.