Tuesday, April 11, 2017 – Epilepsy is the worst.
There are so many small, normal, day to day things that should be easy and shouldn’t be an issue or even be a second thought. But with Epilepsy, those little day to day moments can quickly become something different and something harder to tackle.
It can be as simple as eating and enjoying a snack with friends at school. But then a seizure hits, and with that seizure is the large intake of breath, and the food is suddenly in the windpipe and no longer in the mouth.
That’s the call I got this morning. She was enjoying snack with her friends and had an episode, causing her to inhale her food. She turned blue and couldn’t breathe. Luckily, the teachers acted quickly and were able to give her the Heimlich and get her breathing again. And she’s fine. She’s playing with her friends and moving on with her day, not giving it a second thought.
But I can’t stop thinking about it; it’s thrown me completely off. I feel so helpless sitting in a meeting in the office while my daughter is miles away chocking and turning blue. If she didn’t have that episode, she wouldn’t have choked. She would have just kept enjoying her snack. But instead, she, her friends, and her teachers had to go through that this morning. And I know it was just as scary for the teachers as it was for her.
Epilepsy is seriously the worst. The absolute worst.
So so sorry today was tough! You can never remove all the threats from any child’s life no matter how hard you try. You just do all you can and then love them with everything you have. Reagan is blessed to have you guys as parents and the blessings of good schools and places you expose her too. Feeling like they’re never safe enough except with you is normal! Don’t lose heart- what’s most important is that you’ve made her resilient enough to just go right on enjoying her day after the scare. Reagan is the most amazing “normal” kid I know!! Thank you for bringing her into all our lives!!’
Looking for the light in the dark…the light that shines is how Reagan handled this. With all the love and support you lavish on her, with all the ways you build her up, letting her soar, encouragement to do it all, to strive for the next step, to continue to grow, in all the ways you treat her normal…that’s how she reacted. She went right on with her day. No big fuss, no drama. That’s what you model for her daily- when she has a seizure she’s learned that we pick ourselves up and keep on going. You have taught her to trust you guys, her teachers,& her family. She knows she’s covered. You’ve given her the gift of resilience. She is so throughly loved that she knows each event isn’t life shattering. Reagan’s beauty is in her confidence- the gift you’ve given her. Never stop- one step at a time- forever forward- forever behind her!! So proud of the incredible parents you are- the incredible child you have given us!!