Tuesday, May 6, 2014

180 Days...

It's been a long time. A really long time. And I deeply apologize for that.

First of all, I became saddened when somehow this beautiful blog of ours lost ALL its pictures. I was able to get a few back, but most of them are gone. Thankfully, I own each picture, so that's not the issue. But for me, I am a visual writer and I feel like all that time we spent in the hospital and all those words I wrote are near meaningless now.

Okay, okay... Complaining over.

Now, today is a special day. To you, it might just be another Tuesday... maybe even a day where you wished to God that you hadn't drank SO many margaritas on Cinco de Mayo. But for us, it's a day that has come that we do not know how to comprehend.

It's officially been...
260,640 minutes.
4,344 hours.
180 days.
Twenty-five weeks. 
Six months.
Half a year.
Since...
 This day.


That's right, friends. Six months ago today, I was writing to you BEGGING for prayer. BEGGING God to save our son as they removed 50% of his right temporal lobe. BEGGING that this whole thing was a vicious nightmare that I would soon wake up from.

It's hard to believe it's been that long already.

Things have changed a lot since that day. We've had two 911 calls and a grand total of 15 seizures... each far worse than the other, one even lasted about an hour long. We placed Renn back on a medication that was the only one to show any signs of working (Lamictal... it helped him go 8 weeks seizure free in 2012. It worked longer than the surgery did). And we've had a vision scare that required us to go back to UCSF for a 72-hour VEEG.

 We also brought Renn home to homeschool him.

And this... this is why I am writing and where I will begin ALL the good news.



Renn. Is. THRIVING.

He turned seven in March... SEVEN! He is doing so well in school, it astounds me. His handwriting is legible, he has found a new love for math and history, and he has finally begun to rid himself of the lies he told himself while he was in his old "brick and mortar" school. His 72-hour VEEG was 100% CLEAR. That doesn't mean he's "cured", but it means that at that time, he had a "normal" brain!! He is finishing up his first full year of Cub Scouts, and cannot wait for days off with Daddy so they can go fishing.
He laughs, friends. He is joyous. He is our sweet Renn, once again (minus quite a few teeth!).

These days, I refuse to say how long it's been since his last seizure. He had an exact six week stretch where he went seizure free, and on the very day where I admitted out loud that things may be looking up, I had to call 911 to rescue our boy. However, know this much... It's been a while. And we are thankful to God for every moment that he lives without issue.

We want to make every effort to continue with this blog. As you can imagine, time isn't on my side, too much, now that I am a full-time homeschooling momma (Eli will be starting Kindergarten here at home, in the fall, too!)! But I will be sharing stories from other families, as it is our family's goal to educate as many as possible about Epilepsy. We have such high hopes. We pray DAILY that we never see another seizure...

Six months have passed since the day we were certain we were going to lose our son, even just a small part of him, forever. We are incredibly thankful to belong to a God who never allowed us to collapse. He never doubted the strength He gave us, or that we would not endure His plans. Even on our darkest days, in these last six months, He showed us this scripture (which is mounted on our refrigerator), and we haven't looked back.

I have made you. I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I WILL rescue you...
Isaiah 46:4




May the Force Be With You all... More to come. :)



13 comments:

  1. This is so precious and how I hope and pray your good days continue. Thanks for sharing such a personal event. It makes all of us stronger.
    Kit

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  2. Thank you so much for sharing your family update. :)

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  3. From andi Hindes (not Audreyb?)

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  4. Holding you all in prayer. So proud of you and your family and all your good work together! May your blessings continue!

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  5. So glad to hear of Renn's happiness!

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  6. Thank you for the update and view inside of your world. So glad to hear that Renn is not just surviving but THRIVING! Continued blessings for you as the journey continues. Proud of you friend.

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  7. This is such good news, Bethany. Keep up the great work, Mom!

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  8. Grateful for the update and the good news contained in it. My heart goes out to you for the times of struggle and fear. Sending enormous hugs!

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  9. It's good to see that you're continuing to do what needs doing and putting one foot in front of the other. I love seeing courage up close.

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  10. We think of you often and still lift you in prayer. Kids in Sun School class remember to ask about Renn. Thank you for the update and that beautiful pic of Renn smiling. God bless and hold you all.

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  12. We think of you often and still lift you in prayer. Kids in Sun School class remember to ask about Renn. Thank you for the update and that beautiful pic of Renn smiling. God bless and hold you all.

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  13. Thanks for the update. We continue to pray for Renn and you all. I enjoy the updates when you can, but understand why you can't. Do what you can and that will be perfect.

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