Grid Placement: Day 5

It's officially here! November is Epilepsy Awareness month!!! So, wear a purple ribbon, and tell everyone why! The whole goal of this blog is to not just share our journey, but to also inform the uninformed. One in twenty kiddos have a form of Epilepsy. That's CRAZY! The more we know, the more we can do to "Punch the Epilepsy out". So let's do it together, okay?

Well, not too much drama happened today (aside from a busted IV line that caused major pain and swelling in his right ankle), but definitely NO SEIZURES. We did another round of the language mapping, and man... Renn is literally the bravest kid I know. He was afraid at first, but when Dr. Genius talked him through what happened yesterday, Renn said, "Okay. I can do this. Let's get this done!"


They had him read the same Star Wars lines that Dr. Genius had written up, yesterday. After a while, they got to a place where Renn stopped reading, looked up, and was pretty panicked. He said he could feel the "shakes" coming on, on the inside of his head. They began a new approach, and had him specifically tell them when he felt things. They had him say, "on" and "off". At one point he felt things in his teeth on the left side, and then another time his left thumb twitched without his "permission". That scared him a bit. He not only felt it, but he could see it as well. It was bizarre.

He got through it though. And now the waiting continues. We are just waiting... and waiting... and waiting... All we really need is two or three seizures. That's it! So we are praying for those to come in abundance, this weekend.

Renn was alert and happy today! He ate more amounts of food, he was sitting up on his own more and more- even sitting in this chair for about forty-five minutes! He did a great job, even when he was in pain due to the IV malfunction. Daddy brought Renn some Halloween candy (made mommy cry!), and boy oh boy was he excited! So what did our Jedi turn around and do? He passed it out to a few of the staff that were taking care of him (made mommy really cry!)...

He continues to amaze me. His heart and love for God shine through him, even when he's in pain.
Today, he proved that by not just giving away his candy, but by also telling certain individuals that he liked them, or that they meant a lot to him.

I know you can't see this nurse's face, but he is our Jedi's favorite. We will call him Mighty C.  Mighty C. continuously goes above and beyond for Renn... Our precious Jedi won't do much unless he tells his favorite nurse first. If something scary is happening and Mighty C. is elsewhere, Renn will cry and say, "Where's Mighty C.??" Today, while Renn was getting a new IV put in (which was attempted twice before they finally got it on the third try), Mighty C. held Renn's head and sang to him. He is a daddy to a little one, with another on the way. He makes Renn's stays so much easier... We are grateful and thankful for him.

Eli is also continuing to amaze me... When this is over, I plan to dedicate an entire blog post to him because I believe the world needs to know what a brave, reliable, and wonderfully strong brother he's been this week. He comes in with a smile, with a hug, and then goes straight to his GameBoy (hey, he is only four! ;) ). But we are thankful for him. He painted a picture for Renn, today. I can't wait to share it with all of you, and what he said when handing it to us.


One prayer WAS answered, though! Rick and Eli got offered a room at the Ronald McDonald house!! And just in time, too. Now that we have to stay longer, we were pretty sure that they would have to go home until it was time to pick Renn and me up. But, God provided! He must really want us here!

Until tomorrow, friends... This Jedi is out like a light, and his momma should have been in bed hours ago!

 

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

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If anyone would like to write to Renn, you may totally do so! I will not post the address here, so please email me at bethany [dot] telles [at] ymail [dot] com and I will send it your way. Thank you!!