Epilepsy is a mystery.
What actually happens inside the mind of a person having an epileptic seizure. We are told that the seizures come from "excessive and abnormal cortical nerve cell activity in the brain."
The cells seem to be firing at will, but how does it get there - and how does it resolve?
This evening Yohan was reciting a poem he is memorising. Then he stopped. He looked side-ways. Enoch thought he was trying to remember something. Maybe he was.
But Sheba knew better. Earlier in the day during a shopping outing Yohan had shown what looked like the onset of a fit. So Sheba just took Yohan, who was frozen and looking sideways, and lay him down on the couch.
I was just finishing a conversation with Appa on the phone.
"He is having a fit" Sheba told me, and we sat with Yohan and put our hands on him and prayed to our Lord Jesus for help. Calm prayers. We have been here before.
And after barely 2 minutes of his slightly stiff, slightly askew manner, Yohan relaxed. He opened his eyes a bit. We reassured him that we were there with him. Asha and Enoch joined us and we each prayed for Yohan and then let him sleep for some time.
Scroll back to the day before yesterday. Our weekly Bible study, a small group of us crammed into an even smaller room. We had wound up the study and were about to have our meal together. We ask for testimonies and prayer requests. Manpreet (all names changed of course) - a widowed lady - told about how she was so grateful that she was going to get an 'adhaar' card - and that her 'papers' are now almost all in order. Then Hira, a young woman, told with tears in her eyes how she has been taking medicines but still gets fits. She had actually fallen down on the street while walking to our time together. What could we offer, but prayers and Sheba hugging this dear lady, herself an orphan.
In a day and age when we expect everything to be perfect, when medicine is supposed to deliver health - if not instantly, then at least after a little bit and after enough bells and whistles have sounded - and cash has changed hands. For Hira, we have seen years of taking medicines and what seems very little improvement.
Should we change the therapy? Or are we at the very limits of what can be done?
One thing is sure. We are humbled to know that we don't have everything at our fingertips, that we just don't know everything there is to know (though my actions often seem to walk in that direction).
Every day we must trust. Our meds help. That's why we give them. But cure comes from the Lord. Each day is another opportunity to hold onto His hand more closely.
It's been more than 2 months since Yohan had his last fit, before this evening. We are praying that the next one will come well after that... and would be thrilled if this was the last one ever.
What actually happens inside the mind of a person having an epileptic seizure. We are told that the seizures come from "excessive and abnormal cortical nerve cell activity in the brain."
The cells seem to be firing at will, but how does it get there - and how does it resolve?
This evening Yohan was reciting a poem he is memorising. Then he stopped. He looked side-ways. Enoch thought he was trying to remember something. Maybe he was.
But Sheba knew better. Earlier in the day during a shopping outing Yohan had shown what looked like the onset of a fit. So Sheba just took Yohan, who was frozen and looking sideways, and lay him down on the couch.
I was just finishing a conversation with Appa on the phone.
"He is having a fit" Sheba told me, and we sat with Yohan and put our hands on him and prayed to our Lord Jesus for help. Calm prayers. We have been here before.
And after barely 2 minutes of his slightly stiff, slightly askew manner, Yohan relaxed. He opened his eyes a bit. We reassured him that we were there with him. Asha and Enoch joined us and we each prayed for Yohan and then let him sleep for some time.
-------------------------------------
Scroll back to the day before yesterday. Our weekly Bible study, a small group of us crammed into an even smaller room. We had wound up the study and were about to have our meal together. We ask for testimonies and prayer requests. Manpreet (all names changed of course) - a widowed lady - told about how she was so grateful that she was going to get an 'adhaar' card - and that her 'papers' are now almost all in order. Then Hira, a young woman, told with tears in her eyes how she has been taking medicines but still gets fits. She had actually fallen down on the street while walking to our time together. What could we offer, but prayers and Sheba hugging this dear lady, herself an orphan.
In a day and age when we expect everything to be perfect, when medicine is supposed to deliver health - if not instantly, then at least after a little bit and after enough bells and whistles have sounded - and cash has changed hands. For Hira, we have seen years of taking medicines and what seems very little improvement.
Should we change the therapy? Or are we at the very limits of what can be done?
One thing is sure. We are humbled to know that we don't have everything at our fingertips, that we just don't know everything there is to know (though my actions often seem to walk in that direction).
Every day we must trust. Our meds help. That's why we give them. But cure comes from the Lord. Each day is another opportunity to hold onto His hand more closely.
It's been more than 2 months since Yohan had his last fit, before this evening. We are praying that the next one will come well after that... and would be thrilled if this was the last one ever.
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