I’m a wife and homeschool mother of three lively daughters, Zoë and twins, Eliza and Robin in the dawn of their childhood. In twenty-one years of marriage, we’ve moved nineteen times and lived in six states. We’ve experienced great need and plenty; brokenness and full joy; health and illness; closed oceans and split seas. However, through it all, we’ve seen the unrelenting love and faithfulness of our precious Savior, Jesus Christ.

In 2006, when our twins were twenty-three months old, we were struck with E.coli poisoning. It shut down Eliza’s kidneys, leading to a fight for her life. She was hospitalized for six weeks on full time dialysis (to make man made pee to rid her body of toxins: the liquid went into her peritoneum clear and forty-five minutes later filtered out yellow). She came home on fourteen hours of dialysis a day and solely nose tube fed. She was very, very sick.

Long story short, I was told at the beginning of December to get through Christmas and come back in January prepared to place her on the kidney transplant list. Christmas Eve I wrote in my journal that I felt like the hemorrhaging woman in scripture who touched the hem of Jesus’ robe (Mark 5:24-34). I told Jesus I’d go anywhere on Eliza’s behalf; I’d fly, run, hike, anything, just to find Him. He told my heart that every time I had called out to Him in prayer, I was touching His hem. He assured me He had seen me and had heard, although I lamented since nothing seemed to change in Eliza’s condition. But, how could I know what He had planned as the next day, CHRISTMAS, the Lord healed her! I will never forget looking at Eliza across the kitchen as her eyes became crystal clear. Something was happening. I was experiencing Emmanuel, God with us right in my kitchen! God often does extraordinary things in a very ordinary way.

When I saw the doctor in January prepared to get Eliza on the kidney transplant list the labs showed her function had returned! Medically speaking, if you don’t get your function back after one month, you never will. Eliza was four months out! The doctor walked around mumbling, “I don’t get it. . . This is a miracle!” Instead of going on the transplant list, Eliza went off dialysis that day and has not been back on since.

Two years later, Robin, Eliza’s twin sister started having multiple seizures out of the blue. In a three month spance she had displayed five different types of seizures. It was terrifying. My completely healthy daughter had lost all control of herself. She was originally diagnosed with Lenox Gaustau, which basically means they expected Robin to stop progressing cognitively – to stay as an eternal four year old mentally with continual seizures. Ever noticed an older person wearing a helmet and being escorted by others? That was to be Robin. Dropping seizures were the most predominant: one minute she’s standing, the next moment she’s like a rag doll.

Long story short, the Lord made provision for her to get clear diagnosing in Texas. She was up to about twelve seizures a day. The neurology team at Cooks Children’s diagnosed her with Doose Syndrome, which is better than Lenox Gaustau but just as intense. It happens in early childhood, lasting about three years, although some never out grow it. Doose kids have an average of seventy seizures a day and there’s only five medicine options. Most kids are on all or a combination with continued seizure activity.

Three months after Robin was diagnosed, the Lord moved or was using the medicine to heal as she just stopped seizing. The doctor was astounded and said, “we don’t see this with Doose kids.” She continued to have years of seizure freedom and just this past year, she was completely weaned from her medicine! Her neurologist in TN was surprised that she’s continued to do well. The Lord appears to have healed her! As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, we don’t even think about the potential threat to Robin.

During her dark days I used to cry out, “Lord, birds were meant to fly, not fall! Help our little bird to stand tall! Let her fly free from this burden.” And now here she is, free from all seizures and epilepsy medication – standing tall on the Rock of her Salvation!