Today's post is from the archives, if you will, and was initially published on our previous blog in January, 2017. Since today is exactly one year from this incident, I am sharing our story again. I am so thankful for God's mercy and provision during the scariest night of our lives. He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our healer and Jehovah Shamah, our ever-present Lord. He was with us that night and every moment since. We've never journeyed through parenthood alone and for that, I am overwhelmed by His mercy and goodness.
I wrote this post on September 12, 2016 but didn’t immediately post it and then I forgot about it. It’s been enough time that I feel comfortable sharing this story. A January 2017 update is at the end of this post.
I’ve debated sharing this story but I’m committed to sharing the beautiful, hell-hard, and scary moments of our lives. Last night was scary.
There are moments that will be permanently carved into your memory. Last night was one of those moments.
Our church has a new location, believe it or not, it’s a former BMW car dealership. It’s pretty cool. Within the next few weeks the car lifts will be replaced with auditorium seats and the BMW signs replaced with WOL and banners with 4 dots. Last night we had the opportunity to tour the dealership that’s being turned (back) into a church.
While we were there, Ethan got increasingly warm and tired. We thought it was due to teething and headed home for some Motrin and bedtime stories. Seconds after pulling out of the parking lot we heard a scream from the back seat. I jumped out of the car and into the back seat and Ethan was shaking. Immediately, I knew he was having a seizure. Ethan quickly came out of the seizure but wasn’t very responsive. Ben raced us to the hospital. We arrived and, with Ethan in my arms, I ran into the ER yelling, “help, help!” In hindsight it may not have been the best way to enter the ER but I’m mama bear and my baby cub needed help.
We were quickly admitted to the hospital. Ethan’s vitals were checked and, as a side note that made us smile, he’s even further off the charts in his weight. Shortly thereafter he was given medicine and we were taken to a room where he slept in brief amounts of time for another hour.
Then our family showed up, first Tim and Nicky, followed by Ben’s mom and dad, a check-in from Dan and my brother, my parents, and our pastor-parents, Kelly and Helen. Their love and support means leaps and bounds to us but what means even more is that they showed up in any way they could. They were all there when we needed them. Fiercely guard, value, love, and protect your family – you’ll never regret it. All day family and friends have checked in with us and my mama-heart is overwhelmed by the love and concern. It takes a village and I love our village.
After a few hours in the hospital we were sent home with a viral diagnosis, a fever that caused a seizure, and a little boy who wanted to smile and play with all the nurses. We’re exhausted but we’re home with our little boy and he’ll be back to his normal self in the next few days.
The scripture that I prayed over and over aloud as we sped to the hospital was, “no weapon formed against us shall prosper. No evil thing shall come from this. You work everything together for our good. And we’re believing that You’re going to work this together for our good. We believe and claim that right now, Lord.” I said it over and over again and it’s still my prayer today.
I’m so thankful for God’s protection as we drove to the hospital, although the seizure was scary and we pray it never happens again, it’s commonly seen in small children, and for that, we’re thankful. This is no indication that he has any kind of epilepsy or seizure disorder. We learned today that Ethan’s body having a seizure was actually his body’s way of protecting itself from the fever. It’s so incredible to me how God wired our bodies to take care of themselves. I can’t say enough good things about the doctors and nurses who took such good care of our baby. A visit to the pediatrician today confirmed last night’s diagnosis and we’re all breathing easier now.
“God is good. God is good at being God. God is good to us.” Lysa TerKeurst
I’m so thankful that we found ourselves at the car-dealership-turned-church. Had we not been there, Ethan probably would have already been in bed when the fever spiked and we wouldn’t have known about it, and may have missed the seizure. In fact, we might not have known about any of it at all. God truly ordered our steps yesterday and worked it all together for our good.
As you think of it, please pray for Ethan’s continued healing and for our parent-hearts and minds. Parenting isn’t for the faint at heart and today my heart is a little faint.
January, 2017 Update – As expected, Ethan made a full recovery and hasn’t had another seizure. We continue to be so thankful for God’s protection and provision that night in September. Today, the car dealership looks like a church – just how it was always meant to be.
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