About 2 months ago, Jeremy and I had a pretty substantial scare with our daughter. As we drove the 30 minutes to the Lutheran Children's Hospital, we each wracked our brains as to why our innocent baby started having seizures! They just came out of nowhere and we were trying to think of anything out of the ordinary that could have any merit in causing them. When we arrived at the hospital, we quickly realized how far away from our comfy cozy home we were. We could no longer live under our rules, we had to live under the doctors rules. Don’t get me wrong, doctors have a lot of knowledge and we respect their opinions, however most of them don’t believe natural treatments are a legitimate course of action. Simply put, it is not what they were taught in school, so it can't possibly hold any merit in the medical community. Since Jeremy and I have been married, we have always tried natural treatment FIRST. Yahweh, our God out plants on this earth for more reasons than we have discovered, but treating ailments with herbs definitely goes back to bible times. Its not that we avoid medicine at all cost, we just don't go their first. This said, the very thought of having to give our Makenna anti-epileptic medicine several times a day for many years to come, was enough to put us to tears! Now of course, we more than anyone wanted to see these come to an end, we just didn’t think medicine would do the trick. We both had that instinct, you know the one that only a parent can have for their child, that this was something different! Well, after over a week in the hospital, her grand-maul seizures were more frequent (30+/day), lasting longer (2-2.5 minutes), and getting harder and harder! It was clear the medicine (that we obviously agreed to give her, at least until they were under control) seemed to be making matters worse.
Finally Jeremy and I decided to throw in some of our own ideas. We wondered about a possible food allergy causing the seizures. Gluten was the first to come to mind, with dairy not far behind. So we had a major decision on our hands “should we put Makenna on a GFDF formula to see if they improve” at least until these elements were completely rid of my system!? We had NEVER though anything would pull her away from only getting “mommy’s milk” as quickly as this did, but we felt it was worth a try! We also found out that a possible subluxation in her neck could cause non-stop seizures until fixed. My brother convinced us to try a chiropractor, so after a short (and very subtle) adjustment, we were feeling less anxious, being proactive really helped. Lastly, we caught word of a couple from Columbia City, a pastor and his wife, that had experienced several miraculous events from intense prayer and the laying on of hands. We felt that Yahweh’s gift of healing could definitely apply to our situation. While the couple was visiting, the most amazing thing happened, Makenna started to go into a seizure 2 separate times, both while being held by the pastors wife, but they NEVER PROGRESSED into seizures, instead her little muscles just relaxed in her arms! It was so encouraging, we knew Yahweh was with us! Finally, over the next 24 hrs we saw huge improvement! She went from having 30+ per day to only 8, then the next day just 1! At this point, we were sure our alternative ideas made the difference! We were finally going back to our comfy cozy home after 10 days in the hospital!
Life at home was much more comfortable! We were still giving her the medicine, and agreed to make monthly appointments to the chiropractor. On top of this, we went on a gluten free dairy free diet so I could start nursing Makenna again! Through this whole experience we discovered that Yahweh has a way of leading us to the answers we seek.
UPDATE: It has been almost a year since Makenna started having seizures and was put on anti-epileptic medicine to stop them. After we got out of the hospital, things were clear for a while. On top of a GFDF diet and some digestive enzymes to break down the lactose naturally occuring in "my milk", we were also giving her medicine every 8 hours, medicine that even the doctors said should not be given to anyone under 2 years old. After a couple months, Makenna had some seizures again, and they continued to happen after that about once every week or two. After much prayer, we decided to take a leap of faith and ween her very carefully off of the medicine. No doctor would back us, so we went to a naturopath for instruction. It was June 10th, my husbands birthday and we were in Fort Wayne for dinner; we had begun the weening process that morning by lowering her dose...when suddenly she went into a seizure :( we were so crushed, and confused! Still, we continued the weening process, believing that it was right for her. THAT was her last seizure! Over 6 months ago! We had decided that if we truly believed that her seizures were caused by a food allergy, that they were only a side effect and not a disease in themselves. She didn't have epilepsy so it wasn't good for her to be on an anti-epileptic drug. We believe now, that her original seizures were from the dairy, and that the seizures she had after months of being out of the hospital were a build up of the medicine she was on. We had learned that an anti-epileptic drug can actually cause seizures to happen when the person is not rightly diagnosed as having had epilepsy. That is our story! Still praying daily that we make the right choices for our daughter and that she remains a healthy little girl!
UPDATE: It has been almost a year since Makenna started having seizures and was put on anti-epileptic medicine to stop them. After we got out of the hospital, things were clear for a while. On top of a GFDF diet and some digestive enzymes to break down the lactose naturally occuring in "my milk", we were also giving her medicine every 8 hours, medicine that even the doctors said should not be given to anyone under 2 years old. After a couple months, Makenna had some seizures again, and they continued to happen after that about once every week or two. After much prayer, we decided to take a leap of faith and ween her very carefully off of the medicine. No doctor would back us, so we went to a naturopath for instruction. It was June 10th, my husbands birthday and we were in Fort Wayne for dinner; we had begun the weening process that morning by lowering her dose...when suddenly she went into a seizure :( we were so crushed, and confused! Still, we continued the weening process, believing that it was right for her. THAT was her last seizure! Over 6 months ago! We had decided that if we truly believed that her seizures were caused by a food allergy, that they were only a side effect and not a disease in themselves. She didn't have epilepsy so it wasn't good for her to be on an anti-epileptic drug. We believe now, that her original seizures were from the dairy, and that the seizures she had after months of being out of the hospital were a build up of the medicine she was on. We had learned that an anti-epileptic drug can actually cause seizures to happen when the person is not rightly diagnosed as having had epilepsy. That is our story! Still praying daily that we make the right choices for our daughter and that she remains a healthy little girl!
Bible verse on our hearts: Philippians 4:6
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (NLT)
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