Ellie
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Epilepsy entered our family's life on a cold February night when our daughter was 4 1/2 months old. My husband and I were not familiar with seizures, so we weren't sure what was happening to her when we called 911. Our pediatrician met us in the ER and witnessed another episode, then told us that our baby was having seizures. Shock, fear and great concern for her overwhelmed us.
Within 2 weeks a specialist gave us the news that Ellie had Infantile Spasms. The treament was a series of injections to be given over the cource of a couple of months. The outcome was uncertain. We were told that if the treament did not work then these around the clock seizures would probably stop by age 5. By then so much brain damage would have occured that her quality of life would be extremely poor. Much prayer, family support and the love of friends got us through those difficult times.
The treament did work for our daughter and she was cured, only to develop myoclonic tonic seizures shortly afterwards. Those were brought under control using a combination of drugs with minimal side effects. She was seizure free for 2 years and able to come off of all medication for 1 year, then suddenly out of the blue complex partial seizures began. These have proven much harder to control. We are still searching for the right combination of drug therapy.
Ellie is now 5 1/2 and is on track developmentally, although some aspects of learning are challenging for her. We praise God for her sense of humor and gorgeous smile. Our family's definition of "normal" has changed because of this journey with Ellie. We now recognize that no person is perfect this side of Heaven. Someday, we will have no flaws or ailments. Until then, we walk each day by faith.
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