**To see pics, check out my Facebook page, 13 Years Ago...
www.facebook.com/staceycyates
When I went to Augusta, they said everything looked like a go. I was a prime candidate. So I went home to prepare. 13 years ago today, I arrived in Augusta to begin the month that changed my life. I had a 24- hour EEG attached. They took me off of my meds to be able to "see" the seizures in action and see where they were originating and affecting. It was a long, hard process, but finally after 9 days, I had 2 good seizures, neuropsych testing, and other tests. Everything was a go for surgery. 10 days later, on July 21, I returned for surgery.
Unfortunately, there was a change in plans. I was not like a lot of epilepsy patients in that I was an honor student, had a career ahead, wasn't debilitated like many epileptics. They were concerned about affecting my short-term memory. So I had to go for Phase 2. To keep it short, it was very rough. They open up the skull, put grids down on your brain, drill holes through the skull to run wires through, then once you're out of surgery, the hook this box to your head to monitor the brain ever so closely. It was very painful, and worried my family, I could tell. I was worried at first, but God graciously reminded me that HE was in control. We then had to wait on seizures. The first was horrible. Not an epileptic seizure, but a withdrawal from medication seizure. Finally, after a good seizure, about a week into it, they had a good review for surgery.
On Thursday, July 31, I had surgery. In short, they removed the brain tissue (really scar tissue) that was causing seizures. It was such a God-thing. They told us later that it was a text-book case; that most epileptic patients weren't near the cognitive level I was at; that when they went in to remove scar tissue, they found some they didn't see before, and it was all gone. The day after, I was walking around the floor, talking to anything that would listen. On Saturday, my surgeon was on-call, and he commented that he had never seen a case like mine, and never seen someone recover so quickly from surgery. He just couldn't explain it. Again, God had a chance to shine when I was able to share with Him that I knew why...people all over the world (literally) had been praying for me, and God had healed me through the surgery! In fact, most recovery times were 7 days after the actual surgery. On Sunday, he said he would send me home early, but was concerned about me living 4 hours away. On Monday, he came in and said I was going home that day. The first to be sent home only 4 days after. Even when I went back to have stitches removed, they couldn't get over it.
God showed Himself to me as the Great Physician that summer! My life was forever changed! My EEG following surgery was clean (no seizure activity!). Brain activity resumed to normal, in fact it increased after surgery. There were some side-affects. I had to learn to study differently. My learning style is different now. If I get really tired, I can't think of thr right word, but can think of one that "sounds" like it. This was especially bad for the months following surgery. I would get so frustrated some times. And though I do not have seizures/seizure activity/epilepsy anymore, i have to take medicine. There are cases where, due to taking meds through adolescence, a "dependence" is developed. However, it serves as my "thorn in the flesh" to remind me of my summer of miracles, and of God's mighty healing power.
I know this has been a long few posts, but if you have gotten this far, I hope you'll read just a little further....
As I stated in part 1, I don't know how I would have made it through those 8 years on my own. It was only by His grace that I was able to continue. It still wasn't easy, don't misunderstand. In fact, there were times I didn't think I could keep pushing forward. I don't know how I could have done it if He weren't there to carry me through when I was too weak, too weary to persevere. If you don't have a personal relationship with Him, please don't wait another day. Life won't miraculously be perfect. But at least you know that He is with You...He will never leave You...He will never forsake You. I'd love to talk with you more about it if you're interested.
So for now, the journey continues...!
"Now to Him who is able to immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His great power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
13 Years Ago..., Part 2
Over the break, I picked up a second job to make extra money. On my way to work on December 28th, I found myself sitting on the side of the road, my knees hurting so badly, didn't know where I was or what had happened. Come to find out, I had another seizure. God had His protection over me, however. It turns out I drove through a red-light in the turn lane in a usually busy intersection and ran into the car on the other turn lane. I totaled my car, the car I hit, and then hit an explorer. While this may not sound like a good thing, it really was. The intersection was near the high school, but since school was out, the traffic was especially light. In fact, no cars were coming through the green light. Also, I had not been in the turn lane, but it was empty, so I had managed to get over into the turn lane. Also, I was sitting on the side of the road. Though I totaled my car, I was able to walk away. I did have a broken collar bone from my seat belt, and had fluid in my knees, but that was it. The other car had some injuries, but only because they had not been buckled in. However, this began a difficult phase.
I no longer had any aura to warn me of an oncoming seizure, and they were random, not in triplets anymore. I now had taken all the medications available, so went back to the first one, and added a second. Even more meds. However, God continued to show Himself to me in new ways. While I was worried that he might run off like others had, Keith stuck around in spite of it all. He chauffeured me around a lot, too! Unlike before, I had seizures more sporadically. And now, I even had them during tests. God left His fingerprints on those tests as well. When I had a seizure, though they were only about 1 minute, it usually took about 20 minutes before I could think straight or talk sense. The first seizure during a test I lost about 20 minutes of time. My professors were aware of my seizures, so when I told him, my professor told me I could have a little more time at his office, but he only had 10 minutes before his next class. I took it, and when the test were returned, I had scored the highest grade in the class. The second incident was in a class of 2 students (engineering). We had unlimited time, so time wasn't an issue. The cool thing was that I scored 102 on the test (extra credit), but the only part I missed any points on was before the seizure. Everything was perfect afterwards. God used that to teach me that He could even take my test for me, if I did my part and trusted Him with the rest.
This round of seizures was more difficult. College schedules are crazy. I worked full-time every other quarter. I lived 20 minutes out of town. My family was very patient. I felt like such a burden sometimes, but they kept on anyway. I learned that God would sustain me when I knew I couldn't keep going. I knew He would redeem me when I couldn't. Then I learned something new about Him.
I had changed neurologists a little while after my accident. We had a new one in town, and when he met with us, he suggested that I was a prime candidate for a surgery that they did in Augusta. It was a big deal, though, and pretty expensive. At the time, I didn't want to lose the opportunities I had at school, so I continued on the medicine route. However, in 1997, things changed.
In June 1997, I finished up my last quarter as a co-op and engineering major. I had decided to do Math Education. With that change, along with no noticeable change in the seizure condition, and concerns about my life ahead, I decided to find out about the surgery route. That's where this adventure begins...!
(cont. on Part 3)
I no longer had any aura to warn me of an oncoming seizure, and they were random, not in triplets anymore. I now had taken all the medications available, so went back to the first one, and added a second. Even more meds. However, God continued to show Himself to me in new ways. While I was worried that he might run off like others had, Keith stuck around in spite of it all. He chauffeured me around a lot, too! Unlike before, I had seizures more sporadically. And now, I even had them during tests. God left His fingerprints on those tests as well. When I had a seizure, though they were only about 1 minute, it usually took about 20 minutes before I could think straight or talk sense. The first seizure during a test I lost about 20 minutes of time. My professors were aware of my seizures, so when I told him, my professor told me I could have a little more time at his office, but he only had 10 minutes before his next class. I took it, and when the test were returned, I had scored the highest grade in the class. The second incident was in a class of 2 students (engineering). We had unlimited time, so time wasn't an issue. The cool thing was that I scored 102 on the test (extra credit), but the only part I missed any points on was before the seizure. Everything was perfect afterwards. God used that to teach me that He could even take my test for me, if I did my part and trusted Him with the rest.
This round of seizures was more difficult. College schedules are crazy. I worked full-time every other quarter. I lived 20 minutes out of town. My family was very patient. I felt like such a burden sometimes, but they kept on anyway. I learned that God would sustain me when I knew I couldn't keep going. I knew He would redeem me when I couldn't. Then I learned something new about Him.
I had changed neurologists a little while after my accident. We had a new one in town, and when he met with us, he suggested that I was a prime candidate for a surgery that they did in Augusta. It was a big deal, though, and pretty expensive. At the time, I didn't want to lose the opportunities I had at school, so I continued on the medicine route. However, in 1997, things changed.
In June 1997, I finished up my last quarter as a co-op and engineering major. I had decided to do Math Education. With that change, along with no noticeable change in the seizure condition, and concerns about my life ahead, I decided to find out about the surgery route. That's where this adventure begins...!
(cont. on Part 3)
13 Years Ago..., Part 1
This week, I was thinking... I know, that usually isn't a good thing, but this time it was a good thing. 13 years ago today, my journey began. For over half of my life up to this point, I had epilepsy. It started on March 17, 1977, just before I turned 2. I suffered from fibril seizures, which are caused by a change in temperature. While anyone can have one if their fever drops or spikes too fast, I had them anytime I had a change in temperature. While I don't really remember having them, I know that they were convulsions, sometimes very bad, and especially difficult for my parents to have to observe. Thankfully, I did outgrow them and was off of the medication by the time I was in the 3rd grade. For the next 5 years, I had lived a pretty normal life, but one day in the 8th grade, everything changed.
During my Algebra 1 fall final, I had a seizure. This time, though, it wasn't a fibril seizure, and it wasn't convulsive. In fact, had my teacher not experienced it before, I may have not known what happened. This began my partial-complex seizures. I would feel a little weird, and then black out. I wasn't sure how long I was blacked out, but everything seemed like one of the nightmares where you here all the sounds inside a tunnel, but can't see anything or understand it. Turns out I was usually only out for 30-60 seconds, but when I would come back to my senses, I couldn't think straight, my speech didn't make sense, and I was absolutely exhausted. After a seizure, I would have to go home and go to bed, and would sleep for several hours. My memory was cloudy for a little while after as well. The seizures usually happened in 3s. So once one came, almost every time, 2 more would follow. While they weren't as bad as convulsions, junior high students are not always understanding, and it was common to have people make fun of the seizure I had at school. If that weren't enough, I realized that I had to change my career choice. I wanted to go into the Air Force after school, and eventually work at NASA. However, as I quickly learned as a junior in high school, all you have to do is mention the "e"-word and the military will drop their calls like a hot potato. We figured out over time that they were usually stress/lack of sleep induced. Seeing I was an honor/A student, this didn't help matters very much. I had a lot of changes to adjust to.
One good thing that came of all of this "new life" was that I realized that I really did need NEW life. While I had been dunked at 6 years old, I realized that I really didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. At 14, I accepted him as my Savior and Lord. I don't know how I would have gotten through the next 8 years without Him. As time progressed, I learned how to cope with epilepsy without letting it completely rule my life. Because they were stress induced, they tended to come near tests/projects. After the first seizure, I struggled with taking math tests for a while. I guess it was a coping mechanism. I learned how to trust God with every situation; even a test. For the next 4 years, I never had a seizure during a test again. Maybe before, or right after, but never during. Also, while I never had a "504" my teachers were very understanding and didn't treat me any differently.
Over time, it seemed to be harder and harder to control the seizures. At one point I was taking 1800 mg a day of medicine, and felt like a zombie. I remember one morning when I accidentally took all 1800 mg before school, instead of only 900. I couldn't see straight, and didn't even remember getting to my house before I crashed. Unfortunately, due to the medicine levels and to the seizure disorder itself, I don't remember a lot of things from growing up. Sometimes, I'll have a flashback on something, and it's like a gift to be able to remember good things! But thankfully, that's almost always what they are...good things. I consider it a gift from God that the epilepsy got rid of many of the bad things from my memories!
During this time, my family moved to Valdosta, GA. I had to find a new neurologist, and he tried me on some new medicine. It worked well, and actually didn't make me feel tired at all. In fact, it had quite the opposite affect. It was so nice to not feel drugged all the time, to be able to think straight. My senior year was uneventful almost no seizures...in fact, none in the last 3 quarters. For once, I had to think about learning to drive, and it made me nervous (not as nervous as my dad, who would always read!). Just after I started my freshman year of college, I was able to get my driver's license. Things were looking up. I had decided to be an engineering major, had my education paid for, and got a car! I also met Keith.
*funny side note...i was notorious for saying "never"...you know, I'll never do this, I'll never do that...
I'll never live in GA...i can't stand the corn...(i ended up in GA with corn growing outside my bedroom window...!) however the only never that paid off was when they told us at freshmen orientation: "You never know, you may meet the person you are going to marry in your first class." My mom nudged me, and I said, "Yeah, right." meaning...never! However, I did! While we dated for 5 1/2 years before getting married, it has been a blessing! The best "never" ever! :)
It was so nice to be able to drive myself around for a change. I had always felt like a bother to my family, because they always had to take me places, wait on me to finish, if I was sick they had to get me home, take me to the doctor a lot, and go through all the seizure mess. It was nice to have a little independence as well. I felt like I was beginning to have some normalcy in life again. But on Christmas break, that all changed...
(cont. on part 2)
During my Algebra 1 fall final, I had a seizure. This time, though, it wasn't a fibril seizure, and it wasn't convulsive. In fact, had my teacher not experienced it before, I may have not known what happened. This began my partial-complex seizures. I would feel a little weird, and then black out. I wasn't sure how long I was blacked out, but everything seemed like one of the nightmares where you here all the sounds inside a tunnel, but can't see anything or understand it. Turns out I was usually only out for 30-60 seconds, but when I would come back to my senses, I couldn't think straight, my speech didn't make sense, and I was absolutely exhausted. After a seizure, I would have to go home and go to bed, and would sleep for several hours. My memory was cloudy for a little while after as well. The seizures usually happened in 3s. So once one came, almost every time, 2 more would follow. While they weren't as bad as convulsions, junior high students are not always understanding, and it was common to have people make fun of the seizure I had at school. If that weren't enough, I realized that I had to change my career choice. I wanted to go into the Air Force after school, and eventually work at NASA. However, as I quickly learned as a junior in high school, all you have to do is mention the "e"-word and the military will drop their calls like a hot potato. We figured out over time that they were usually stress/lack of sleep induced. Seeing I was an honor/A student, this didn't help matters very much. I had a lot of changes to adjust to.
One good thing that came of all of this "new life" was that I realized that I really did need NEW life. While I had been dunked at 6 years old, I realized that I really didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. At 14, I accepted him as my Savior and Lord. I don't know how I would have gotten through the next 8 years without Him. As time progressed, I learned how to cope with epilepsy without letting it completely rule my life. Because they were stress induced, they tended to come near tests/projects. After the first seizure, I struggled with taking math tests for a while. I guess it was a coping mechanism. I learned how to trust God with every situation; even a test. For the next 4 years, I never had a seizure during a test again. Maybe before, or right after, but never during. Also, while I never had a "504" my teachers were very understanding and didn't treat me any differently.
Over time, it seemed to be harder and harder to control the seizures. At one point I was taking 1800 mg a day of medicine, and felt like a zombie. I remember one morning when I accidentally took all 1800 mg before school, instead of only 900. I couldn't see straight, and didn't even remember getting to my house before I crashed. Unfortunately, due to the medicine levels and to the seizure disorder itself, I don't remember a lot of things from growing up. Sometimes, I'll have a flashback on something, and it's like a gift to be able to remember good things! But thankfully, that's almost always what they are...good things. I consider it a gift from God that the epilepsy got rid of many of the bad things from my memories!
During this time, my family moved to Valdosta, GA. I had to find a new neurologist, and he tried me on some new medicine. It worked well, and actually didn't make me feel tired at all. In fact, it had quite the opposite affect. It was so nice to not feel drugged all the time, to be able to think straight. My senior year was uneventful almost no seizures...in fact, none in the last 3 quarters. For once, I had to think about learning to drive, and it made me nervous (not as nervous as my dad, who would always read!). Just after I started my freshman year of college, I was able to get my driver's license. Things were looking up. I had decided to be an engineering major, had my education paid for, and got a car! I also met Keith.
*funny side note...i was notorious for saying "never"...you know, I'll never do this, I'll never do that...
I'll never live in GA...i can't stand the corn...(i ended up in GA with corn growing outside my bedroom window...!) however the only never that paid off was when they told us at freshmen orientation: "You never know, you may meet the person you are going to marry in your first class." My mom nudged me, and I said, "Yeah, right." meaning...never! However, I did! While we dated for 5 1/2 years before getting married, it has been a blessing! The best "never" ever! :)
It was so nice to be able to drive myself around for a change. I had always felt like a bother to my family, because they always had to take me places, wait on me to finish, if I was sick they had to get me home, take me to the doctor a lot, and go through all the seizure mess. It was nice to have a little independence as well. I felt like I was beginning to have some normalcy in life again. But on Christmas break, that all changed...
(cont. on part 2)
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