God never wastes a hurt, God wants to use you. In the back of my Bible I have random quotes and thoughts that I have heard over the years. I’m not sure where I was when I heard this, but I’m certain that God prompted me to write it down. I’m clinging to this now and trusting that there has to be something big in my future.

I’m not mad anymore. I’m tired and frustrated. I’m frustrated with the reality that Epilepsy has no cure and no perfect medicine. I remember when I was little and we would go to the Davidson Clinic to see Dr. Williams. I used to ask my parents why doctors “practiced medicine”. That indicated to me that it was not yet perfected and I didn’t understand letting someone who is still practicing something stick me with needles and prescribe drugs to me. Now I understand why doctors still “practice” medicine. I was right all along; medicine is not yet perfected. I understand it, but truly I would prefer that someone other than me serve as the guinea pig.

Apparently I make a good study in medicine. Lord help me, I surely hope THAT is not the big purpose that God has for me! You know when you read the labels on medicine and it says “a small number of patients may experience rare and unusual side effects such as…”, yes, well I tend to fall into that category. I guess everyone falls into some statistic and at least I fall into the rare and unusual category. I’ve always thought I was a kind of stand out person anyway. I majored in Psychology in college, it was not my intention to become a study in psychology. Nevertheless, here I am.

The good news is that the seizures have stopped. The not so good news is that as I slowly increase the new medicine I rapidly turn into someone I do not even recognize. It’s really quite possible that Webster’s 2012 newest addition will read: Mood Swing – definition Gatewood Campbell. I asked Johnny if I could hang a sign around my neck that reads “Heavily medicated. Not responsible for anything that is said or done.”  This new medicine turned me into someone I don’t know nor can I control. After several days of uncontrollable sobbing and screaming at strangers in parking lots for their inability to drive responsibly (or whatever else was annoying me at the time) I decided it was best that I remove myself from the outside for a bit. It seemed that was in my best interest as well as the best interest of the state of North Carolina.

Epilepsy is all about misfires in the brain. In order to treat it, you have to corral the misfires. Let’s just say that I’ve got some wanderers that clearly do not want to cooperate. My doctor says that the side effects I am experiencing are rare and unusual. I really should have expected that by now. Although I am more than ready to throw in the towel, quitting is not an option. I’m still trying to convince myself that a seizure would be worse than how I feel on this medicine. The jury is still out on that one for now.

So, here we go again. In order to isolate the symptoms I’m having, we backed off the new meds for a week and in a few days I will try them again. My dosing schedule is about as complex and confusing as the back to school forms for the boys. I hope I’m more successful at my dosing than I was at communicating how Hunter was supposed to get home from school on the first day. Oh well, he eventually made it home safely regardless of the detours. I certainly pray that the outcome of my detour will end favorably as well.

I’m forever thankful for the generous help and support of our friends and family who continue to rally around us. I have no words to express the depth of gratitude I have for what you have given our family. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

God never wastes a hurt, God wants to use me. I’m sure it is for more than a footnote to some pharmaceutical company’s research, so until then I’m trying to put aside my frustration and hang on to see the bigger picture.

Copyright © Gatewood Campbell, August 2011