Olivia

Tonight I am asking anyone who may read this to please say a prayer for little Olivia.

Olivia is the 15-month-old daughter of our friends, Chad and Lisa. She spent a day with us last July, and she was such a delight. A month later, she began having seizures. After spending several days in the pediatrics ICU, Chad and Lisa were eventually sent home with her without knowing the cause of the seizures.

Several doctors, tests, and therapy sessions later, they still had no answers. Anti-seizure medications helped, but they didn't eliminate the seizure activity altogether. Even a visit to the Cleveland Clinic didn't result in finding an effective treatment.

What they did discover was a deficiency in a neurotransmitter. Here's the explanation from Lisa's blog: "it simply is a chemical that allows the movement of information from one neuron across the gap between it and the adjacent neuron.This is basically what Olivia is missing in her brain if you would say. And since she is missing Biopterin (a transmitter), her nerves aren't wanting to cooperate and therefore seizures are happening."

They prescribed a medication for Olivia that was supposed to increase her levels to a point where the nerves would begin to work properly. However, Olivia couldn't keep the medication down most of the time. And the seizure activity continued. Her personality changed. She began to cry frequently, and when she wasn't crying, she would often just sit quietly. I noticed the change in her, from a smiling, playful baby to a quiet observer.

She is such a sweet child, it is heartbreaking to see her go through all of this. I can't even imagine what Chad and Lisa are going through. They worry about their little girl all the time. They haven't felt comfortable leaving her with anyone because of the seizures and medications, and caring for her is a 24-hour job.

Today, Olivia had multiple seizures and began vomiting. Lisa called the ambulance, and Chad planned to meet them at the hospital. While in transit, Olivia suffered a very serious seizure that took over two hours for the doctors to get under control. She is now in the pediatric ICU again.

Please pray with me for God's hand of healing on this precious little one. I know she is His delight, and He has a plan for her. It's just hard when we can't see His plan. And please pray for Chad and Lisa. They need His peace and comfort.

Lisa's hope is that Olivia's story will somehow touch others' lives. Let us pray for a happy ending that will be an inspiration to others with similar difficulties.

Lisa's blog ("Our Olivia"): http://borodychukbunch.blogspot.com