How Quickly Things Can Change......

On Wednesday night, we went to Gosh Ethiopian Restaurant to celebrate two years home with Will! We had a great dinner and enjoyed our time visiting with the owner of the restaurant. She told us that the curtains hanging in the restaurant were from the region of Ethiopia that Will is from. She said that they are known for their beautiful fabrics and clothing. I had already commented to Sean that I thought the curtains were pretty, so of course, I had to have our family's picture made in front of them before we left!

 When we got home, we celebrated a little more with a special cake that all three kiddos had made that afternoon. Beckett and Helen had decorated it with M&M's which are Will's favorite!

 On Thursday, we spent several hours at the lake with a couple of friends. It was a very pleasant day...not too hot and simply beautiful! Here is Helen giving Will a piggyback ride!

 Nathan, Matt and Beckett were out playing on the floating yellow tube that marks the end of the play area and Will and Helen (my non-swimmers) stayed where it was more shallow!

 These two have so much fun together!

 I just love this picture (even though it is a bit off-center!) Will has gotten to the age where, when I ask him to smile, he gives a big CHEESY grin! You just have to catch him laughing....not posing to see his great smile! He is such a happy boy!

So, fast forward a few hours and see how quickly things can change! We had a normal Thursday evening, although we were a little late getting to bed. I won't go into all of the details, but around 10:30 on Thursday night, we had to call 911 to get emergency help for Will. He was experiencing a seizure of some sort and it was clear pretty quickly that we needed help. The paramedics arrived and began caring for him and I rode with him to Children's Hospital in the ambulance. The seizure lasted about 30-40 min. and it was over by the time we arrived at the hospital. We were so relieved when he finally began responding to us when we said his name and then he eventually began talking to us. Will had several tests in the ER that ruled out any emergency situations and then we were admitted to a room at 2am Friday morning. He was exhausted, not only because it was his normal sleeping time, but we were told that a seizure will wear out your body and make you extremely tired. They told me to wake him up at 4am and keep him awake until 8am so he could be sleep deprived for the EEG test that they would do on Friday morning. THAT was not easy. A very sleepy little boy did NOT want to stay awake. It did help that he was VERY sleepy when they attached the 24 wires to his head so they could record his brain activity during the test. He did very well during the test and by noon on Friday, just a bit over 12 hours since the whole episode took place, we had some answers as to why the seizure had happened. He does have an area of his brain that has some abnormal electrical disturbances. There is a good chance that he will grow out of it, but for the time being, he will take medicine to control those abnormalities. By Friday afternoon, after some good rest, he was right back to our sweet, fun Will! He had so much fun playing in the hospital play room and with all of the new toys that Nana, Papa, Helen and Beckett brought to him! Every time a nurse or doctor came to check on him, he was friendly, happy and compliant with their requests! They kept him Friday night for observation and we were allowed to go home on Saturday afternoon. Here is a picture of Will showing his breakfast on Saturday morning. He loved the little dome that covered his meals to keep them warm! He would say, "taa daa" and then lift the cover off as if he had performed a special trick to make the food appear!

 And here, he turned the cover into a little hat!

To say that this was a scary experience would be an understatement. My thoughts were all over the place as I was trying to figure out what had happened and wondering if our little boy would recover from this seizure. But as I look back over the events of that late night and early morning, I am so aware of God's presence with us and His hand of protection in everything that happened. I just see so many ways that He was guiding us as we made split second decisions when time was so important. The paramedics arrived so quickly and were here with us when the seizure became more disturbing and for that, I am so thankful. Sean's parents were able to be here so quickly to take care of Beckett and Helen who were so scared for their little brother. I am so thankful that Nana stayed with them and that Papa was able to bring Sean to the hospital so I wasn't there alone with Will during all of this. I was greatly pleased with the paramedic who helped Will. I was so scared and he not only took care of Will, but he "talked me down" and just calmed my nerves. I'm so grateful for East TN Children's Hospital and the work that they do! They took such good care of Will and were so conscious of this momma's concern for her little boy.

 For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13)

I am just so THANKFUL for the many ways that God was guiding us and protecting Will through all of this. I have such peace and comfort knowing that He loves us and that He will hold our hands and help us through all of our life experiences!