Sorry, blog followers, for the gap of posts.
I can't believe it. Just 6 days till I'm back in Texas, preparing for Fall '10 at LeTourneau University!
Monday through Thursday this week, we (Nemati family) went on a vacation to Morro Bay. There was much fun, especially on Tuesday, when we rented some kayaks for a couple hours.
Every silver lining has a cloud, though. I caught a small cold after swimming and not having anywhere warm to go. On Thursday, as we drove home, I had three seizures. (The first was at 11 AM, the second was at 3 PM, and the third 7 PM.)
I am relieved to hear that the post-ictals of those seizures were not nearly as bad as the two I had in the presence of friends from church. It sounds like I stayed seated, did some weird things, but nothing more dangerous than hitting my head on my knees. (And Dad stuck his hand in the way to cushion that!)
This blog does not yet contain the full story of an amazing answer to prayer. In Surgery Postponed, the surgeon's call came the morning after we watched Finger of God, a documentary about how God is doing miracles everywhere, everyday, and, inspired to have faith in God's power to do things in any way, we prayed that if surgery was not God's plan, the doctors, the surgeon, would cancel of their own accord. The next morning, the surgeon called, and we were told they wanted to postpone it.
That call was obviously an answer to prayer, but from the beginning it was clear that it was not clear exactly what the answer meant. We asked for a cancellation, and got a postponement. At first we thought the postponement might could the same as a cancellation, and that I might be miraculously healed. However, the seizure reported on June 28 dashed that hope - at least of an immediate healing.
I still have hope that God will relieve me of this trial, and in the meantime I am learning from it. Over this summer, we have been reading A Praying Life, and it has strengthened - or perhaps begun - my life of prayer. Also wonderfully helpful have been Pastor Ron Boomsma's sermons on the book of James - especially Aug 1's, "Conflicts." I have been trying to exercise that sermon, and make it a habit, and hopefully I will do well enough to get along well with Sam in a couple weeks.
By the way, my brother Sam is going to LeTourneau University with me this year, and he's going to be my roommate!
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Pray for David
+Pray for no seizures and healing from epilepsy.
+Pray for no colds (often come with seizures), wisdom in matters of health.
+Thank God for the period of no seizures from July 31 2008 to July 7, 2009, even with one less medicine and his VNS implant being turned way low inadvertently.
+Thank God for a full recovery from the trauma caused by the grid on August 1 2008.
+Thank God for the period of no seizures from July 31 2008 to July 7, 2009, even with one less medicine and his VNS implant being turned way low inadvertently.
+Thank God for a full recovery from the trauma caused by the grid on August 1 2008.
+Thank God for strength during the first four semesters at college.
+Pray for strength and wisdom through the third year, taken from home.
+Thank God for three months with no seizures, from early August to early November '11
+Pray for that pattern, of no seizures or even auras, to resume and remain
Use the Blog Archive to start from the beginning of this record
My angel!
2008
WHAT'S UP WITH DAVID--updated 9/19/09
David was diagnosed with focal epilepsy in 2000.
He has tried seven meds and had a device implanted, but still has had seizures and side effects.
Since summer 2007 he has been on a track toward surgery, which can be very effective. In July 2008 we got to the final stage which is to have grid surgery.
Grid surgery on July 29 involved placing a silicone grid of electrodes directly on his brain. A cable connected his head to an EEG screen, and he stayed in his hospital room to have seizures. If the grid shows where seizures come from then usually the spot can be removed and the epilepsy is gone or alleviated greatly.
Things went wrong on August 1 when the grid turned out to be very irritating and caused a lot of fluid buildup and swelling so it had to be taken out in emergency surgery as David started slipping into a coma. The opportunity to do therapeutic surgery was lost for the time.
But things started going well as he had no seizures for 11 months and 1 week after coming out of the hospital. Things are really good because he (accidentally) started taking one less medicine, and because his vagal nerve stimulator was (accidentally) set way too low after surgery, and still no seizures. This is very unexpected so maybe the trauma altered something in his brain and healed his epilepsy.
Despite some bumps things are still going well, with very few seizures. After asking for the VNS to be turned down, then having many more auras, turning it back up, and having sleep trouble, he has had seven seizures since July 7, '09. However, each seizure has been gentler than the last, and a common denominator has been found in many of them - looking at computer/TV screens too long.
He has tried seven meds and had a device implanted, but still has had seizures and side effects.
Since summer 2007 he has been on a track toward surgery, which can be very effective. In July 2008 we got to the final stage which is to have grid surgery.
Grid surgery on July 29 involved placing a silicone grid of electrodes directly on his brain. A cable connected his head to an EEG screen, and he stayed in his hospital room to have seizures. If the grid shows where seizures come from then usually the spot can be removed and the epilepsy is gone or alleviated greatly.
Things went wrong on August 1 when the grid turned out to be very irritating and caused a lot of fluid buildup and swelling so it had to be taken out in emergency surgery as David started slipping into a coma. The opportunity to do therapeutic surgery was lost for the time.
But things started going well as he had no seizures for 11 months and 1 week after coming out of the hospital. Things are really good because he (accidentally) started taking one less medicine, and because his vagal nerve stimulator was (accidentally) set way too low after surgery, and still no seizures. This is very unexpected so maybe the trauma altered something in his brain and healed his epilepsy.
Despite some bumps things are still going well, with very few seizures. After asking for the VNS to be turned down, then having many more auras, turning it back up, and having sleep trouble, he has had seven seizures since July 7, '09. However, each seizure has been gentler than the last, and a common denominator has been found in many of them - looking at computer/TV screens too long.
1 comment:
We just heard a great sermon on Sunday about why God causes us to go through "the desert" while waiting for our prayers to be answered. This is from the Akron, Ohio church and I'll see if I can find the link. Here is a general link. Click on The Room of Unanswered Prayers. http://www.cogc.org/SiteWings/Main/SundayMessages
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