Victoria was admitted to Children's Hospital-Scottish Rite Tuesday morning for a video EEG monitoring test. We went in hopeful that we would be discharged by Wednesday afternoon, and thankfully we were. The test started with attaching what seemed like 100 leads to her head (with glue). As you can see by the picture, her head was wrapped and she had a cord that allowed her to walk to the restroom. She was to stay in bed where she could be on video. (Now, keep in mind Victoria is not feeling sick and is VERY excited about being out of school, Christmas, traveling to see family, etc. ) Ok, with that in mind, think about what it would take to entertain her 2 days in a hospital bed!! Victoria has the sweetest spirit. She truly does. She was pushed to the limit....and honestly, by this afternoon I was too. Having the leads taken off and the sores left on her forehead were really hard for her.
I can't say enough about the wonderful staff at Scottish Rite. They certainly went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and to keep Victoria entertained. Volunteers brought stuffed animals, games, Christmas stockings, art supplies and more as gifts since she was in the hospital during Christmas vacation. Victoria was so appreciative and thanked everyone so sweetly. Yesterday she told me it was one of the best days EVER!
(Of course, it did help that she has not watched Nickleodeon or Disney Channel for over a month. I think she caught up this week! )
One of the neurologists met with us this afternoon to let us know the initial results of the tests look good. The EEG was abnormal, but the good news is an actual seizure was not detected. The impulses are occurring in her brain, but her new medicine is effectively holding the seizures at bay. That means so much as we have been trying to get to this point for over a year now. Our older kids see a big difference in Victoria and have commented how nice it is to have our "old Victoria back." Let's just say we're glad to be through with the Keppra meds, and we are so glad she is doing well with the new one! This was a great Christmas gift to hear that the medicine was working, and our Victoria is feeling so much better.
This afternoon was one of the hardest moments I have had as a mom. There was a code blue called that was cancelled a couple of minutes after the call. During that time, Victoria and I prayed for the child and asked God to be with the doctors and nurses to help in healing the child. She was so happy to hear the child was better. (The story sounds pretty good, right? Well here is where it got hard.) After the difficult time she had with getting the leads removed and taking a shower, we took a walk around the 1st floor to try to improve her outlook on the day. With tears in her eyes, she said "Mom, I guess God could only heal 1 kid today. I'm glad that one from the code blue is o.k. I just wish he could have healed my seizures all the way too." I had to stop in the middle of the hall of the hospital and catch my breath. How do I reply? I prayed a quick prayer for the word God would have me give.
We talked about how it's hard to understand, but God chooses when it's best for us to be healed. For some people (like the kid today), it can happen quickly. For others, it happens later in their life. Still others will get their healing in heaven. We talked about that is our promise...all of us get healed in heaven. She won't have seizure meds or tests, my bad elbow will be healed, Ashley won't have asthma, her cousin will be able to hear, and on and on. She seemed to really understand as we walked on. With a sweet voice, she said "I just wish God could have healed me all the way today."
What spoke to me is the honesty of a child. God knows our hearts. And it is hard to understand why we can't be that one sometimes. I continue to meditate on "if God were small enough for us to understand, He wouldn't be big enough for us to worship." God is faithful, and he loves Victoria even more than we do. She loves Him too--like no other child I have ever seen. I just can't wait to see what he has in store for this little miracle.
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:5-7 NAS
I can't believe it has been 20 years since we said "I do." We were two teenagers ready to face the world--no fears, best friends, happy! Less than 2 years after we married, we moved 13 hours away from everything and everyone we knew to Tulsa, OK. That's a LONG way from Mississippi !! I remember watching the tape of our wedding....not for some romantic, nostalgic moment...but to see faces of people we knew in the sanctuary!! It's also the best thing that could have ever happened to our marriage. We grew so much during that time together. I can't help but smile when I remember the time we got into an argument and started laughing when we realized there was no place to go to be alone and mad in our tiny one bedroom apartment. 
