Results

Healthy boy!  That is what the test results say.  Here in our home tonight we are singing God’s praises as we see this as a direct answer to prayer. 

Owen’s MRI showed no mass or tumor and a clear sinus cavity.  His EEG showed good brain function and no abnormalities.    The doctor was very reassuring and optimistic as he answered the millions of questions we threw at him.

We do not have a clear answer to what has happened or what will happen in the future but what we have done is knock the scary stuff off the list.  The doctors cannot rule out seizure disorders but at this time Owen does not need to be medicated. 

Owen’s episodes both took place in our kitchen.  If they were seizures his trigger may be the lighting/ceiling fan above the table.  We will be replacing it as a precaution.  Many kids have seizures with no real rhyme or reason and eventually outgrow them.  This could be our case.

Leaving the doctor's office in a good mood!

Another possibility is that Owen has breath-holding spells.  It is possible that after a fall he attempts to cry but never quite catches his breath and then passes out.

Twice I have taken this precious gift to Children’s Hospital for neurological testing and twice I have been told by the specialists that everything is going to be ok.  We are so blessed and I thank everyone for the prayers.  We went through all of the testing when Owen was a baby and when it was over I remember telling a friend that God can remind me to trust Him fully however he chooses but I hope he never has to use my kids again.  What God has done for me in last few weeks is use what I love the most to yet again remind me that the sacrifice of His son was the greatest gift anyone could ever give.  There is nothing more gut wrenching than the thought of losing your child, and God did it voluntarily to save my soul.  That is the real blessing!

Last night after all of the testing I took Owen and Allie to my parent’s house while Jeremy napped.  We walked in the front door and Owen ran up to my dad for a hug and told him, “Papa I ok.”  The words gave me chills and I clung to the hope that it was all going to turn out fine.  My baby is right he is ok.

I know I have said it a lot in these few short blogs but it can’t be said enough…God is in control.  I wrote a paper in high school and in it I included a poem by an unknown author that says it all.

My life is but a weaving 
between God and me.

I cannot see the colors; 
 yet He works steadily. 


Sometimes he weaves sorrow, and I in foolish pride


Forget He sees the upper, 
and I the underside.

Not till the looms are silent and the shuttles cease to fly


Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needed in the Weavers skillful hand


As are the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

Just waiting for results

Owen and the ball machine on the first floor

You don’t ever have to look far to see just how blessed you are and to be reminded that chances are someone is worse off than you. 

Last night Owen had a great night, no ever told him to go to bed.  With each yawn we started something new.  We played puzzles, trains and watched movies till after 1am.  A brief nap and we were up again by 4:30 and hit the road by 5.  I gave Owen a flashlight to try and keep him awake on the car ride; it worked for all of 15 minutes.  If you are a parent you know that the moment you get in the car you tell your kids to close their eyes and rest so to try and keep a two year old awake was torture…for all of us. 

Putting on electrodes for the EEG

Owen needed to be sleep deprived to get the best test results, and my boy was a rock star.  He was super cooperative and even though he was tired and hungry his smile still lit up the room. Two nurses attached 27 electrodes to his scalp and he never moved.  The EEG itself took about 90 minutes start to finish.  We went immediately from neurology to the radiology department and checked in for the MRI.  Again Owen held still and locked eyes with the nurse while hey put him to sleep, never fussing.

It is unnerving to have a child under general anesthesia.  They do it everyday but in the back of your mind you know they wouldn’t make you sign consent forms if there were no risk.  We were given the kind of buzzer you get at a restaurant to let you know your table is ready but for our sleeping son and left to explore the hospital for two long hours. 

Your mind can go a lot of places in two hours but Jeremy and I kept coming back to the fact that God knew Owen before we did and He loves him very much.  Went left the hospital with our groggy yet still smiling little boy.  So many others there today were not as lucky. 

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.  We will meet with our pediatrician in the morning to go over test results.  We are ready for whatever they may be, trusting God is in control.  

Test Time

Distracted, yes!  The last week has been a blur of distractions from tomorrow’s upcoming tests, which has been great.  We have seen God at work in amazing ways and for that I am so thankful.  When the testing was originally set my thought was “that is so long from now, I will stress for weeks.”  What I have found out is that God set the test date just far enough out to accomplish great things in our lives.  If the testing had been the day after the second seizure I know for sure I would not have the peace going into it I have today. 

Jeremy is self employed, has been for years.  One of the great hardships of self-employment is never knowing for sure if and when a paycheck is coming.  Jeremy began applying for full time employment again knowing we needed something more reliable going forward with the unknown of Owen’s health.  He immediately received a call back and a second interview with the Budweiser Event Center.  The seventy plus applicants were from across the country and he was a part of the elite three asked back.  We were praying hard and praying for wisdom.  If Jeremy were offered a full time position he would have to put his own work with Big Creek productions on hold for a while.  If he were offered the job it would be a lot of technical and not a lot of creative.  As his supporter I had my own concerns for his happiness as well as for our stability.  Thursday night as we discussed the what-ifs of the job he told me his hope was to not get the full time job but that they would offer him freelance work instead.  Friday morning we received a phone call, just not the one we were expecting.  Out of what seemed like nowhere Orion Media contacted Jeremy and offered him freelance video work for their hunting and fishing shows on Verses, Outdoor Network and ESPN.  They had seen his work and wanted him.  He called the Budweiser Event Center to inform them he was taking another job.  Their response was, “great, we wanted to hire you but not for the position you applied for.  We would really like you to work part time on a freelance basis.”  Yes, God was most certainly at work in all of this!  We now feel confident moving forward that Jeremy has steady work on the horizon and it will be what he wants to do. 

We have also had the blessed distraction of Allie Lou’s first birthday.  We had a party for her on Sunday with many friends and family around to help celebrate.  When the party was over we sat back re-reading birthday cards and reminiscing.  I was reminded of Mary in scripture where it says she gathered all these things up in her heart and treasured them.  Oh how I understand that so much more as a mother than I ever did before.

Now the distractions are behind us and all that is left is the testing.  I have felt like I am walking around in a fog today.  Between mom group meeting, speech therapy and the daily chores I have been running like mad but really just feel like I am running behind.  I have made list after list today of things to accomplish and few of them are done….my mind is on tomorrow.

Today Owen’s balance is off and I have noticed a loss in appetite.  Are these for real or tricks my mind is playing on me out of fear?  I am doing my best to let faith answer the door when fear knocks.  I know that God answered our need for employment in a way that far exceeded my hopes and if He will be faithful with the small how much more can we trust Him with the great.