Making a snowman...

We were blessed with snow again and this precious little one wanted to make a snowman before we went to the hospital. After being outisde for just a tiny moment, she had a seizure and hit the sidewalk face first. She had two burst lips, a scratched chin, two teeth knocked loose and bloody gums. She still wanted to play in the snow and so this is her with her "snow fort" right before we went to the hospital. So very sad...

Abby Grace

Oh I am just overwhelmed with the love I have for this precious child from God. She was such a trooper in the hospital. Our worst day was Sunday as we reached 26 seizures. I found myself going to that survival place of "handle it". Then the Lord shone His Light on us and she was given some relief.

"He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day..." Psalm 91: 4 & 5

A CAT scan revealed some infection and so we started antibiotics. Her fever she'd had since Saturday started to settle down and she was able to get some more rest. The seizures also started going down in number and we even had a 26 hour period without any.

Don and I had prayed about changing her medication and had decided not to since her seizures were under "control". Since we lost that, we decided to change her to Keppra. So she is going up on that and we are weaning her off the valium she has been on since Sunday while the Topamax stay the same. Once the Keppra is at a good level, we will try and wean her off the Topamax. Our desire and prayer is that one medication will hold her and we won't need her to be on two which is not good for her over time.

She has now been seizure free during waking hours since Tuesday. She is having about two a night but they are smaller than normal and only lasting 5 to 10 seconds. Our prayer is that God will take these away as well and she will again be seizure free.

Her MRI came back normal... PRAISE THE LORD!

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. KNOW THAT THE LORD IS GOD. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100

So we are in a holding pattern to see how this week goes. We'll keep you posted. And of course we still covet your prayers!

Spa Time!


One of my sweet girlfriends, Shelly, came to visit with her family and brought me a goody bag. It contained chocolate, bath goodies and some facial cloths and a tea and spearmint mask! Well, that night I was all about some refreshing of my face and so I put my mask on. Of course my precious little one wanted a mask too. So the technician, Debbie (whom we had also had there in 2004) suggested we do a baby lotion mask for her.

And here she is, with her first of many baby lotion masks! It's amazing what a small amount of pampering can do for the soul!!!

Refreshing the Spirit

We were so blessed by all of you during our stay in the hospital, and just during this time. Abby had several visitors who came to play and love on her. We've also had so many people come to pray with her. She knows what the prayers mean and that is something special about this time around. In the past, she really didn't understand. Now, she asks for people to pray over her and knows we are going to God for Him to make her better... that is really beautiful.

I've had several people let me know they fasted for her and I want you all to know that we are so moved by that, and so was our God in heaven. I am just humbled to my knees over the love God has pored out upon us, tangibly, through you. "For they refreshed my spirit and yours also." 1 Cor. 16:18

Teachers Party

Four of Abby's teachers and therapists came to visit her yesterday! We just had a little party in the floor of the playroom! We are SO BLESSED with her Oak Grove family. We have been so blown away by the care and love they give her and us. Her teacher is just a TREASURE and it was totally a GOD THING that we got to have her again this year.

They brought her a banner that her friends and classmates made for her. They signed their names, wrote little messages and drew pictures on it. There were pictures of her and Dusty... it is just ADORABLE and as you can see... VERY LONG! It is something we will treasure always and will be in her "keeping box"! We love you guys!!!!!!

WE ARE HOME

This is the short version. We are home! Abby is MUCH MORE STABLE... PRAISE OUR LORD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!!!!!
We LOVE you all and have just been blown away and so lifted up by all of your phone calls, emails and messages and cards. THANK YOU. YOU have been God's love to us during this time of darkness and we are so BLESSED to have you in our lives and support group! I will try and sneak away tonight and write more!!!!

Going to the Hospital

After Abby has had 22 seizures today, Don and I have decided to have her admitted into the hospital tomorrow morning. I will update when I can. We will be at Scottish Rite in Atlanta. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Heavy Heart

I write today with the heaviest of heart so far. My precious Abigail Grace slips further and further into sickness each day. Every day, without fail, the seizures are increasing in number with longer lasting side affects. Yesterday she had 13.

Today, she was having trouble walking with her right leg. It took my breath away to see that so soon. I asked her to raise her arms and the left one flew up and the right one continued to hang. Upon repeating my request for the right to be raised, she got it up halfway with much effort.

Moments later she went into another cluster of three seizures, making 9 for the day and it is only 1 p.m.

We have increased Keppra and Topamax as of yesterday. We are eagerly awaiting blood and urine test results from last Monday and PRAY that they will show us SOMETHING. Her neurologist has us coming in on the 30th and I am going to politely request on Monday that we come in sooner... as in early this coming week. I also feel we need a MRI to see if there is anything there.

My heart is desperate. It is torture that I hate to relive to watch her slip further down every day. The helplessness of it all is overwhelming... choking.

We are keeping a journal of her days and everything in them, and I was adding scripture to it this morning and the first passage I looked up was in Mark 9. The disciples had tried to heal a man's son who was possessed with a demon of seizures. They could not do it. Jesus did heal the man. When the discples asked why they could not heal him (as they had healed others), Jesus responded, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." Mark 9:29

I was struck that that was the passage I read first. And so I have decided to fast tomorrow. I am declaring a day of fasting and prayer for Abby tomorrow. Fasting is a very personal thing and so I wil let the Holy Spirit speak to you on that one. But I do ask with a desperate heart that you pray tomorrow for Abby and ask boldly in confidence for her healing. Matthew 21:21

We are opening our home all day for anyone to come and lay hands on her and pray. Since Wednesday, we have had people everyday come and lay hands on her in prayer and I am so thankful and grateful.

God gave us the sweet gift of snow again today. Abby was able to go out for 30 minutes and play in it. She had a seizure just 10 minutes after being back inside. She loved it and was thrilled with the falling of it.

Thank you God for such a sweet sign of your presence today, falling on us sweetly, softly and causing delight.

Abby Update

Abby has continued to get worse this week... having seven seizures yesterday and eight so far today. We continue to try and "tweak" things to get this under control. Please continue to pray and lift her before the Lord. We thank you all so much for your faithfulness in this... it gives us strength and so much encouragement.

God is so sweet, even in the darkest of times. Three of Abby's seizures today were at school. I was horrified that I wasn't there and heart broken to think of her class watching this happen to her. Well, the Lord is so sweet... sovereign and even cares about the "small things". Her class was having reading time and were all on the floor facing the wall. Abby was in the back of the classroom with her teacher who was just about to take her to the nurses office. Abby fell into her teachers lap and started to seize. Her teacher calmly laid her down in the back of the class and none of the children saw it happening! Praise to our Lord who is GOOD and THOUGHTFUL.

Her precious teacher also told me today that she has not felt well for several days. Her husband suggested she stay home this morning and she said, "No, I need to be at school today." PRAISE GOD WHO KNOWS ALL OUR DAYS and who IS SOVEREIGN!

God has also given us the sweet gift and surprise of snow today... yes, fluffy beautiful flakes that fell from heaven to shower us with sweetness! Precious is our Lord!

Medication Change

After several discussions and prayer, Don and I have decided that since we don't have seizure control anymore, we are going to try a medication change. We are changing from Topamax to Keppra. In order to do this, levels of Keppra have to be up before we can start lowering her Topamax. We HATE she will be on three medications and pray that her little body can handle this transition. We are supposed to increase her dosage again in four more days. We also have an appointment with the neurologist later in the month to discuss this and other things.

Your prayers for guidance, strength and rest are appreciated. Abby has increased to an average of three seizures a day since Saturday. They are almost always at 12:15ish a.m., 3:15ish a.m. and 5:15ish a.m. SO if you happen to be up at any of those times and want to hit your knees for some intercessory prayer... GO FOR IT!

Thank you for your love and prayers and kind words of encouragement. We love and appreciate you all.

Request for Prayers

Our precious girl seems to be falling into a seizure pattern again and it is happening rather quickly. About two weeks ago, we saw some signs she might be having seizures again and we started monitoring them by having her sleep in our room for almost a week now. She's had seizures all those nights between 5:15 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. except one. Today, we decided to try and restructure her sleep pattern by giving her a nap. The thought was we could put her to bed at 9 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. and get her up at 6 a.m. and possibly miss that faithful and very timely seizure. Well... she had two... one during the nap and one right after... while awake.
This is very alarming and twenty steps backward instead of just a couple.
So we are asking for serious prayers on her and our behalf. Please feel free to put her on your churches prayer list as well. We ask for HEALING for her once more. God has stopped these seizures before and we CALL ON HIM HUMBLY YET BOLDLY to do it AGAIN! Don and I pray for courage and GUIDANCE. There is NO ONE ANSWER to stop these things and so we find ourselves in a VERY hard place to be... with numerous options and the clock ticking.

We are having a very large panel of blood work done Monday morning. It's a test that will give us a TON of information on her digestive system, her metabolic system, any food allergies, any imbalances, and much more. After we get the results, there is a company that creates a specific formula of vitamin supplements for her specific needs... on top of any food changes we'll need to make. We pray this may give us insight to what her body may need or have too much of.

We have been considering changing medications and have been praying about it off and on for months now. We decided since her seizures were under control, that we didn't want to upset the apple cart. Now that they are back... DO WE TRY CHANGING now? (prayer request) TRYING could actually make things worse OR it could help.

We are pretty maxed out on glyconutrients but do we increase those as well? (prayer request)

Do we just increase the drug she is on now and see if it helps? (prayer request)

We also pray for patience and faith and peace. It is SO HARD to keep her at the feet of Jesus when this happens. My instinct is to go into "handle it, fix it, figure it out" mode and I become a bit panicked... very angry and anxious... and overwhelmed.

We pray for that Abby does not develop fear and can handle having seizures again and that we can help her through this time. We pray she is able to continue in school and can get through the days. We pray she is able to get enough rest. We pray for her heart.

We start Brain Balance Tuesday. We pray that this brain therapy can help her develop more and can also help her brain produce healthier cells and brain pathways. We pray it gives her the ability to process and learn more, the ability to process and handle and communicate her emotions, and that it could lead to the stopping of her seizures!

THANK YOU. THANK YOU for your hearts, your love and your prayers and friendship. THANK YOU for being there whenever we call upon you and for being God's love to us and our precious Abby. Thank you for believing in the Lord and the POWER OF PRAYER. THANK YOU for being our support group.

We will keep you posted and I won't be going private yet due to some prayer warriors who have not given me their email addresses yet!

Moments

As I prepare mentally to pack "Fragile" today and prepare her for a long journey home... I am overwhelmed by a thought I had right before Christmas.

I have come to understand, more than ever before, that life is made up of precious and particular moments. Moments that are linked and shape the path of your life journey. Moments that are small and almost go unnoticed by most... moments that are big and draw many in. Moments that change relationships, perspectives, and presents and futures. Moments that can never be repeated or changed... moments that can be recreated with thought and care.

But whatever the moment is... it is so very important. God has planned and sees all our moments. He's promised that they will all come together for good for those who love Him. When you walk in His moments... you are aware of how beautiful each and every one is... even those that bring about tears, sadness, or even regret. When you seek and pray to walk in His moments... you hear His whisper in your soul... a deep quiet part that moves you with peace. And when you walk in His moments... You are blessed more than your mind or heart could ever have imagined. God is so very good and soveriegn. When you walk in our the Lord's moments He has prepared for you... you walk with Him and it is a precious moment.

We Praise God for leading us into the moment we decided to take in this precious child. We Praise God for how He has shown HIMSELF over and over and over again during this time. We Praise Him for allowing us to BE HIS love to a child we would have never known and to be a small part of her new little path of life. We Praise Him for being God and for ALL that HE IS!