My Sister

My dear sister is having what one of her doctors suspects to be seizures caused by prenatal trauma. This doctor said that sometimes adolescents who experienced trauma in their early development experience a relapse in seizures. I helped raise my baby sister, taking her delicate elfin munchkin self six to ten hours a day from babyhood through her third year. During this period I think she was having infantile seizures, absent seizures and perhaps even grand mal seizures, which involve the stiffening of muscles, and jerking of limbs. She also seemed to have atonic seizures, where her head would drop down, and sometimes she would collapse. She was born with a deficient umbilical cord, which hadn't properly delivered oxygen or nutrients in that last month of her gestation. She had died for twenty minutes soon after she was born, and it is truly a miracle that she survived.

My sister is having symptoms of partial seizures, with dizzy spells and blurred vision. She is getting brain scans this week. Please, send her your prayers. I'm theorizing though, that she's been having partial seizures for years without us correctly identifying them. There are certain behavioral clues, we may have missed, which include emotional symptoms. The onset of seizures are scary because they can indicate tumors, although that seems unlikely with her history. One doctor was worried about brain pressure, but they believe they have ruled that out. Some types of seizures can even be brought on by low blood sugar or an electrolyte imbalance. She has been steadily progressing in some areas, she can ride a horse Pendragon, at a local stable, with help. She is writing her own Arthurian legend, and I want her to be able to finish it. And go on to write the novel. She has been obsessed with the story of King Arthur for years. She has studied the legend, the historical time period (5th and 6th century), Celtic mythology, and everything related to it.

Today, I spent some time in an old church. Sometimes it feels really good to pray. I think Saint Francis of Assisi may have actually visited me in the nave. I should spend more time on pews. When I told my darling friend Marisa, who had been busy downstairs, she said that he's her all time favorite saint, and that she prays to him. Maybe he will answer mine.