Early Easter morning, four and a half years ago, life for our family changed forever. I awoke to the sound of an otherworldly noise and Tina’s body convulsing uncontrollably. That event began us onto a path where we would discover that Tina was suffering from late onset Epilepsy. That path would include long periods of Tina being home-bound and a non-stop roller-coaster of trying to figure out which medications would strike the best balance between controlling her seizures but also limit the debilitating side-effects of chronic fatigue and loss of focus – that effort has only been marginally successful.

On July 14th 2010, our path took another turn when Tina underwent a five week long surgical procedure where doctors at University Hospitals in Cleveland Ohio implanted multiple electrodes into her brain in the hope that this would allow them to locate the spot in her brain that is responsible for her seizures and then surgically remove that spot in an attempt to control her seizures without medication. Unfortunately after 3 surgical attempts to locating this seizure focus, the clock ran out and the risk of continuing this procedure became too great, so they removed all of the electrodes, and sent her home with very little to show for our 5 weeks in the hospital.

When we left Cleveland two summers ago we couldn't imagine that we would go back anytime soon. Those five weeks in the hospital were very disappointing for Tina and difficult for our kids. However, over the course of the last year and a half, Tina's seizures have become progressively more frequent, and medications have become progressively less effective at controlling her seizures. So, after consulting with Tina's neurologists, it is clear that we are in for yet another turn in the path of life.

We will once again be making the trip to University Hospitals in Cleveland, and on Wednesday January 11th, Tina will once again undergo the same procedure to implant electrodes in her brain to monitor seizure activity in the hope that they can determine the physical location of her seizures and surgically remove it.

This is not a path that we went looking for nor did we anticipate how sharply our lives would change literally over night when four and a half years ago these seizures began. There have been days when we have wondered as to why these things were happening and what God was up to in this. What we have learned is best summed up by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Rome where he said that the paths that God lays out for us are "beyond tracing out." We may not understand this path or where it’s leading us, but what we do know is that we would rather follow God’s untraceable path than to follow any path we could lay out for ourselves. This blog is our attempt to bring others along with us as we walk along God’s untraceable path.

Monday, July 26, 2010

She's In: Take Three

Tina has been taken back now for her third surgery in less than two weeks. She once again proves her amazing resilience by having a better attitude than everyone around her. Some said to me the other day that Tina had better watch out because she just might loose her reputation as a pessimist and be branded as a hopeless optimist. God has certainly been her shield and her strength through this. I'm positive that without the power of the Holy Spirit it would be near unto impossible to maintain the outlook Tina has had, given all the setbacks and difficulties that have been a part of this experience here in Cleveland.

I got my first good look at Tina's head today as they had to unwrap her head and remove all of the surface electrodes before she came down to surgery. She definitely is a zipper head. Her incision curves around the right side of her head from just above her ear, moves toward the back of her head, curves back around and ends just behind the hair line at the center of her right forehead. In all it's probably around 8 - 10 inches long, and you can definitely see where the skull is missing as, rather than a nice curved shape, to the right side of her head it's rather flat. Tina had me take a picture but it probably won't make it onto the blog just yet.

Please pray for Tina now as they perform this surgery and as she recovers that the healing hand of our Loving Father would be felt and that once again His name would be made great. May those around us be truly amazed by all that he does.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Matt and Tina,
I love you all! Praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for his love and mercy as you travel through this time in your life. A comforting thought to me is that God is not surprised or put off by what is happening. He knew Tina and you would go through this way before she was born and knows the plans he has for you which are for his glory and your good.
I am praying that the time will go quick, God will have his healing hand on you and comfort you, and that he will love up your children and be there for them as well.
Love,
Aunt Carol

July 26, 2010 at 10:28 AM
Anonymous said...

We praise God for His hands being on you. We are thankful that you are walking with Him and are such an inspiring couple. God will use you mightly. Aunt Barb

July 26, 2010 at 1:09 PM

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