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I am looking for stories of diabled Christians. Questions I ask are, Were you a Christian before you were disAbled or after? Were you born with the illness/ condition or did you develop it later in life? How did family, friends and medical staff react? What helped/Didn't help? They need to be your own honest stories and stories of Christians and general stories of those of Christian medical staff and nursing staff are appreciated too. I will write my stories for starters but I need those of others to stories of diseases and conditions I'm not familiar with.Feel free to e mail or post to me at contact details
Epilepsy - A few experiences by Colourful Dave
My first experience is thought to be in my childhood years when a teacher stopped me for "staring off into space" in class. I remember several times geting in trouble with one sesiive student for allegedly staring at her in class. I don't remember great chunks of my school years because of what I think is commonly called childhood epilepsy. It settled done as that type of epilepsy does in time but when I was aged 17, just old enough to drive a car that I was getting pressured into by friends but like my Mum and one brother before me didn't want to drive, one day in my G.P and podiatrists surgery waiting to see the podiatrist I started feeling slightly faint and passed out totally uncouncious as I headed uncontrollably towards the floor. My next memory is of many people some I knew looking in at me in the back of an ambulance outside the doctors surgery. To this day I don't remember anything of the time from the doctors waiting room chair into the ambulance. I was told by the kind ambulance driver I had taken a fit and was taken very confused to the emergency department of Royal Perth Hospital. I felt very disorientated - I had no memory of what had happened. Nothing like this had happened to me or my immediate family before. I saw the registrar of a neurologist who I am still under the same specialist some 23 years later. There one I have had over the years I have had all sorts of tests but like I was told at the bigging of this condition about 50% of people with epilepsy after all the tests they still don;t know what causes it in them. I don't if those are current figures of not knowing why it happens in an individuals. There are different types of epilepsy, I have several types.....grand mal, where I uncontrollably shake and jerk, frothing at the mouth I'm told. I'm not aware at all during those times. I pass out uncouncious and have no controll over it except to take tables which at the highest safe dose partly control it.
I also have whare called by a name I hate and think needs to be changed like the word spastic has been fased out. This one is called pseudo - seizures where I jerk etc in a similair way and still can't control them contrary to some abulace drivers beliefs who aren't doing there job properly, quite wrongly think it's some type of perfomance. My point is why would I embarass myself in public to be taken to a hospital In don't want to go to. No point. The simple fact is by the time they get to me I'm awake and alert. They are called pseudo - sezuires becuse there is no recorded electric impluses in the brain doing them. But in 23 years they haven't recorded one fit but my neurolgist who is an epilepsy specialist and is considered the top neurolgist in Australia and has know me medically for 23 years personally currently longer than any other medical person consistently. And he says my fits in every stle are real, even the psedo ones - they just show no electrical impulses in the tests.
So where do I get my hope and faith from? Well I'm waiting on some week long tests in hospital and that I have the top neurolgist in Australia who has been consitently through other G.P's and other doctors. My neurologist has much patience with me, is willing to stick it out for the long run, knows me well, is well qualified amongst other supports. The epilepsy Association of W.A. are A great support and that my fits are fairly well controlled by medication. Despite havings fits about once a fortnight they are mainly the sress related ones and with changes coming up in the not too distant future to reduce thge reasons for my stress they should decrease in time hopefully and prayerfully. Also I am in a supportive church that didn't condemn me when I had a fit during a Good Friday service and the ambulance officers had to take me out uncouncious from the church. There is a good sign to everything, See Romans 8.28.
There was an Epilepsy Symposium on Sunday 1st November at Perth Conference Exhibition Centre. Conference 10am - 3.30 pm Registration and exhibitor area opens 9.30 am. Epilepsy:Top of Mind. For more information phone 1300 37 4537 or email epilepsy@epilepsy.org.au I went and it helped me a lot, great speakers, great food an all round well worth going day. If you get the chance to go to somethings like that on a subject relevant to you or a loved ones life I suggest you go.
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Joni Eareckson -Tada Quadraplegic
Joni, named after her father became a quadraplegic in 1967 at age 17 when she dived into shallow water. Many years have passed and she has formed the group Joni and friends, a worldwide ministry to the disabled community both Christian and non - Christian. She has published several books and the movie of her life story has been translated into several languages and touched millions of peoples lives. I am now using my second copy of a devotional guide written by her. The first one I used was lasting a month and my second is a year long one called "Diamonds in the Dust 366 Sparkling Devotions" The inside cover says it has sold more than 200,000 copies sold so it must be good. I've only just started it and look forward to what God has to say to me though it.
I also have a copy of the NIV Encouragement Bible - The answer for those who hurt, published by Joni and Friends. I can assure you the day I received that was truly a blessing and it has been every time I've read it. I personally recomend it to any struggling disabled person. The people who have done the devotions in it are Joni herself, as well as an American married couple: Dave Dravecky who was an all star baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants until he lost his pitching arm to cancer. His wife Jan has struggled with clinical depression and all three have authored a number of books, some Jan and Dave together.
These people especially Jodi have been an inspiration to me and suggest you reach out to find the refreshing waters of Christ through at least one of their books. There is also the movie simply called "Joni". I can sell the DVD and some of her books if not the bible, at below retail levels when I come as a speaker through my deal with Koorong. Be encouraged. Be blessed. Colourful Dave.
