Beyond my Control

Just finished reading “Beyond my Control” by Stuart Ross McCallum.  It is his personal story about living with epilepsy and how it affected him and those around him.  Just like Hannah, he had uncontrolled seizures, and eventually underwent two brain operations similar to what Hannah will be undergoing in a couple weeks.  The last couple chapters describe the surgery and his recovery process.  His surgery was successful, and he has been seizure free, but it was eye-opening to read about his experience in the hospital and about his recovery process.  He experienced a tremendous amount of physical pain after each operation, and endured a long emotionally painful recovery (for him and his family).

After reading his book and also following the story of Kate McRae and specifically her struggle after her brain surgery that has affected her movement, it is extremely scary for us that we’re going to voluntarily put our little girl through this.

We know surgery is the best option.  Hannah can’t continue to have the number of seizures she’s having every day, and spend her days sheltered in the house.  It’s just that currently we know what to expect, and how to deal with it.  Surgery holds so many unknowns… and so many risks.