Thursday, March 26, 2009

Our God Story through Epilepsy!





December 2, 2002 was an incredibly scary night for our family. Gabriel was 2 1/2 years old and woke up doing some pretty weird things until he went into full blown seizures and unconsciousness. We quickly called the ambulance...who came in grabbed him and worked on him on their way out the door to get him loaded up and to the nearest hospital. We were not aloud to ride with him, we followed behind and watched and prayed and cried as we could see them working diligently on him to get him to breath. Once we arrived at the hospital we were not permitted to go back with him...we entered one way and Gabe another way. Family and church pastors and friends quickly filled the hospital. We were not aloud to see him for hours and when we did he was hooked up to so many tubes and things keeping him alive. They had him so sedated that he could not breath on his own. Yet the seizures did not stop. They transferred him to another hospital with a better care unit for him. the seizures did not stop for 3 days and on the fourth day he woke up and pulled out the tube from his throat. I remember thinking that we would never hold him again or take him home...but God was faithful and Gabriel was Merle a vessel in God's greater plans! When Gabe was in the first hospital and we weren't aloud in...a lady was next door with her mom and when they let me back..she put her hand on my shoulder while i was in the hall and said when you weren't aloud back, we were sitting at his door praying for him. I knew that was God, reminding me to trust Him and to know God never leaves him. While family and friends visited us those 4 days they made new commitments to God and renewed old ones. If Gabriel was going through this so John's brother Phil could call out to God, then it was worth it to us and saddens us when he falls away. The weeks following getting home, we learned that a family in our marriage study for the first time stopped and prayed together, husband and wife, for the first time ever! The women were at church practicing for the Christmas Choir and at the exact time Gabe woke in the hospital...one of the women had a desire to stop and gather the women to pray for him! They didn't know and we didn't know they were praying for him! God works in all things!!!
The past 7 years since then, have not always been easy but man do we experience the grace and love an Joy of the Lord through Gabriel and his seizures. he is now on 2 seizures medicines and the neurologist has asked us to start a 3rd one, we are praying if that is the right answer. Some week's he is seizure free and some weeks they hit him hard and he losses speech and use of body parts..but the one thing Lennox Gastraut Syndrome can't take from Gabriel is his love for Jesus and his JOY in being in the presence of Jesus...he wants to pray and he wants to sing Blessed be your name..and he says "Jesus says fear not", and though he has just been through a seizure, he wants to go to church for devotions! If we all had faith and joy like that!

Gabe you are our HERO and we love you and you are the BRAVEST guy we know! Fight hard!

3 comments:

ourjoyfulljourney said...

We remember that night and those days well, remember the feeling of not being able to be physically there with him and you guys, but being reminded that we could be there in spirit praying! What a miracle God performed!!! It is so amazing to look back and to see the big picture that we weren't able to see then and see how others were touched! We are SO blessed to be part of his family! We love you SO much Gabe you are a hero to us as well!

Tammi said...

I can remember that night like it was yesterday!!! My little Goobey is not so little any more. What an instrument he is in the Lord's Army!!!! God is still in the busiess of miracles, as we see His work everyday played out in the life of my nephew!!!!! I love you Gabe!!! Heidi, I see you found that song, isn't it amazing!!!!

ourjoyfulljourney said...

I agree Tammi, that song is amazing!!! I've been a fan of this song for years! I cry every time I hear it! The story behind it is good too! :)