Becky’s Story: My Epileptic Seizures Stopped
Becky lives in Alabama. She experienced a childhood accident that caused her many physical, emotional and social difficulties for 30 years. But when she cried out to God, He poured His grace onto her and healed her. Here is her story.
The Day Everything Changed
One day when she was six years old, Becky went with her sister to ride their new horse. Her sister could ride very well, but Becky had never ridden a horse. Becky’s sister helped her get up onto the horse’s back, and she rode him around the field.
But, as horses often do, he suddenly decided to head to the barn. As he barreled through a swing set that was made of wooden telephone poles, Becky was thrown from the horse, and her head slammed into one of the poles. Her sister helped her get back to the house, and Becky fell asleep.
The accident caused epilepsy, a condition Becky lived with for 30 years. According to WebMD, in about 70 percent of epilepsy diagnoses, there is no known cause. In those cases that do have a clear cause, the known causes of seizure typically involve an injury to the brain. Other causes include low oxygen during birth, brain tumors, genetic conditions that result in brain injury, infections such as meningitis or encephalitis, and stroke.
Becky’s Seizures Become More Serious
In 2017, the International League Against Epilepsy renamed the types of epileptic seizures to make the names more accurate, less confusing and more descriptive of what is happening. The current classification describes where seizures begin in the brain, the level of awareness during a seizure and other features of seizures. 1 At first, Becky had what were once called “petit mal seizures.”[1] These seizures begin in both sides of the brain at the same time. They begin and nd abruptly and are common in children.
Then Becky began having what used to be called “grand mal seizures.” Now referred to as “tonic clonic seizures,” they cause a person to lose consciousness. The muscles stiffen, and the body makes jerking movements. These seizures usually last one to three minutes and take longer to recover from than other types of seizures.
God Heals and Saves
“That is when I knew I could not keep going on my own,” Becky says. She recited the 23rd psalm for a week and prayed to God. “I asked Him to save me, and He did. He also healed me of the epilepsy,” she says. Before Becky could drive a vehicle, she had to be seizure-free for five years. “The Lord took me through each day. I can now drive and do the things that others are able to do,” she says. She has not had a seizure for 36 years. “When God saved me, He made me a new person. He showed me that He is able to do what seems impossible.”
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.”
My Take on Becky’s Story
We are so blessed to be loved by a God for whom everything is possible. As humans, we often try to handle life’s difficulties on our own. If we turn everything over to God the moment we begin to experience hardship and pray for His healing and grace, He will fulfill His promise to meet all our needs.
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’”
1. “2017 Revised Classification of Seizures,” Epilepsy Foundation, https://www.epilepsy.com/article/2016/12/2017-revised-classification-seizures.