Your seizure is a GIANT red flag with a root cause. 

Never, not once, in any Dr. appointment has a neurologist told me that my seizures were a warning sign. As I prepared for France in more pain than I’d been prepared for I knew I had missed them.

My condition had started slowly growing up and progressed. First, I just got sick a lot. Then, I got hives and then, I achieved petit mal seizure status. Seizures progressed from there. 

In the process of trying to fix me, Dr.s removed body parts,  I got more and different drugs and I became a guinea pig for clinical trials. Then, my seizures got worse. 

I decided I’d do my own research and try my own things and when I took my own path … that’s when my seizures got better. But, by that time … I was already a mess in so many other ways.

Find The Root Cause of Your Seizures:

The root cause of my seizures was never addressed.  Dr.’s couldn’t find a problem with my brain. I’m dealing with something now called Status Epilepticus (constant state of seizure). Doctors have told me they can’t determine when I’m in status or not and they refuse to listen to my primary caregiver who knows me best. So, my life is in danger each time this occurs. 

When you’re not able to deal with your root cause it continues building in the body, causing more problems than when it first arrived.

I began praying for healing, knowing God made my body and He could change my status instantly. I also know He has given me responsibility to act on behalf of myself and do what I can to move forward into healing. 

As I realized how far I had come and yet, how much further I had to go I felt like giving up. Living is a great challenge. 

UTIs – is it a root cause? :

I began asking God to open my eyes to the root causes of my seizures. As I was remembering my history with epilepsy I could see my struggle with UTI’s.  They had been present with me since childhood, a red flag of their own.

I couldn’t talk about this as a kid.  I didn’t know what it was, but it was embarrassing. I didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone. My parents were dealing with their own struggles at the time and I trusted them more than anyone. 

Because I couldn’t talk about it, they went untreated. This was after being put on antibiotics for sickness that destroyed my gut health. It has been shown that antibiotics can harm the microbiome and lead to the development of UTIs. 

Every time I’ve been in the hospital for a seizures I have a UTI.  Many anti-convulsives make one susceptible to UTIs which, incidentally both men and women can get.

So, I had this piece of information to go on and mull over. It wasn’t really helping me not think about death. It was really just keeping me concerned in a big way, especially since I knew I had a UTI, we were now in France and we’d forgotten my emergency meds. 

Tired and burdened …

The plane landed. Excitement was ours, as was exhaustion. We were taking the train to Marseille straight away. I was too tired to be concerned about root causes or seizures.

We walked through security, secured our bags and made our official entrance into France. Our train was waiting. 

I was exhausted. Holding a backpack filled with supplements, I reached, once again, for vitamin C. I could feel the pain in my side. The deep ache in my back signaled trouble. I smiled. What else could I do?

3.5 hours later we arrived in Marseilles, the oldest city in France.  We hadn’t had time to book accommodations so our train ride was the perfect spot to get the job done. I had an idea of where I’d like to stay, but it was booked. The hotel we ended up in was better in every way. 

I didn’t know what to expect, but as we walked up to the Intercontinental my breath caught in my chest. This was the hotel? It looked more like a palace.

Views from around the palatial grounds look toward Notre Dame De La Garde Basilica.  The most important feature for our family though, is always the pool. And, they had a beautiful one with tall stone walls we had exclusively to ourselves (minus the 5 minutes someone decided to come lounge about). 

What if’s:

And here, I began the very serious struggle with my death. If I didn’t know the root cause to my seizures, how could I heal? Without healing, what was the point of living? If I wasn’t truly alive wasn’t I already dead?

The view there was lovely. The environment, as perfect as anything could be. My family … amazing. My body, breaking. 

I was drinking more water than I had in months and my mind was fighting within me: 

“You should write a letter to your children in case you die. – No, that’s giving up.”  

I penned several letters in my brain and “threw them away.” I decided whatever happened I would live or die in JOY!

We crashed that night and woke – late. 

Jet lag had taken over, but I was thankful for the extra sleep. 

Sometimes we want what we haven’t given our bodies the ability to have. Sometimes, we don’t know what it is that they actually need. 

I was learning daily what those things were. 

Do you know what those things are for you?

You must be your own advocate. No doctor is going to fight for you in the ways you expect that they will. I hope you’ll remember YOU have the ability and the authority to choose the path you heal on. 

Do you have seizures? What are you doing to discover your root causes? Let me know in the comments below.