I just joined and wanted to introduce myself

[KellyLC]

I never knew this forum existed until tonight.

I was websurfing and looking for LDS inspirational stories when I noticed this site and thought maybe I should join.

Sometimes I don't know what to say to people in introductions, but I'm thankful for my faith. My faith and Heavenly Father have helped me through a lot in my life.

My name's Kelly and I'm a member of the Satellite Beach Ward of the Cocoa Florida Stake.

Edited June 10, 2011 by KellyLC

[pam]

Welcome Kelly!

[KellyLC]

Thanks! I love your signature. :)

[KrazyKay]

Welcome Kelly :)

[HiJolly]

Welcome!

HiJolly

[KellyLC]

I was a preemie baby. My mom told me that she'd had to have an emergency C-section when I was born, in 1981. Because of the premature birth, I was born with damage to the right side of my brain, a lesion in my right temporal lobe.

The lesion caused me to develop a complex seizure condition (grand-mal and petit-mal, I'd have both kinds, but at different times). My family didn't want to start me off in real school because of this, so they found a place that helped kids in my condition, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia, the Institutes For the Achievement of Human Potential.

The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I went through the entire course (physical therapy and learning), and was reading before most babies were: Instead of baby books when I was three, I was reading and comprehending Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. (I'm not meaning to brag, I'm just explaining how the course worked)

When I finally went from homeschooling into real school, it was terrible. Almost all of the other students were picking on me and verbally harassing me. . . it got to be too much. I'd deliberately act out just so I could get out of those classrooms.

I went through part of an elementary school program and flunked out. Later in my life, after I joined the Church, I went through two high schools and a private school, and flunked out of all three of them, too.

(I think I might have been around ten or eleven when I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church, but I'm not positive because of the seizure condition. I know I was out of elementary school, though; young enough to start off in the Beehives group in Young Women's.)

I'm GLAD I got out of those schools, because it was too much for me to handle. The profanity, the other students talking about crude stuff constantly. . . I just couldn't stand it.

(If anyone has any questions about me or about any of this, I'll be glad to try to answer and expand on them)

Edited July 6, 2011 by KellyLC

[maiku]

I never knew this forum existed until tonight.

I was websurfing and looking for LDS inspirational stories when I noticed this site and thought maybe I should join.

Sometimes I don't know what to say to people in introductions, but I'm thankful for my faith. My faith and Heavenly Father have helped me through a lot in my life.

My name's Kelly and I'm a member of the Satellite Beach Ward of the Cocoa Florida Stake.

Any ward with the word satellite in it HAS to be cool!

[KellyLC]

I thought I used to be in the Satellite Beach ward, but then I remembered: they redistricted the boundaries last year. Now Satellite Beach and Melbourne are merged into the Melbourne ward. (inserts self-headslap)

[KellyLC]

I thought I used to be in the Satellite Beach ward, but then I remembered: they redistricted the boundaries last year.

Now Satellite Beach and Melbourne are merged into the Melbourne ward.

[Blackmarch]

I never knew this forum existed until tonight.

I was websurfing and looking for LDS inspirational stories when I noticed this site and thought maybe I should join.

Sometimes I don't know what to say to people in introductions, but I'm thankful for my faith. My faith and Heavenly Father have helped me through a lot in my life.

My name's Kelly and I'm a member of the Satellite Beach Ward of the Cocoa Florida Stake.

Welcome welcome

glad ot have ya :)

[Darkpaw1]

Sup

[KellyLC]

Hi, Darkpaw! Sorry I haven't responded until now, things have been so hectic/busy in my life that I haven't had a change to get my brain under control and just focus on one thing.

Edited July 23, 2011 by KellyLC

[Gwen]

I was a preemie baby. My mom told me that she'd had to have an emergency C-section when I was born, in 1981. Because of the premature birth, I was born with damage to the right side of my brain, a lesion in my right temporal lobe.

The lesion caused me to develop a complex seizure condition (grand-mal and petit-mal, I'd have both kinds, but at different times). My family didn't want to start me off in real school because of this, so they found a place that helped kids in my condition, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia, the Institutes For the Achievement of Human Potential.

The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I went through the entire course (physical therapy and learning), and was reading before most babies were: Instead of baby books when I was three, I was reading and comprehending Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. (I'm not meaning to brag, I'm just explaining how the course worked)

When I finally went from homeschooling into real school, it was terrible. Almost all of the other students were picking on me and verbally harassing me. . . it got to be too much. I'd deliberately act out just so I could get out of those classrooms.

I went through part of an elementary school program and flunked out. Later in my life, after I joined the Church, I went through two high schools and a private school, and flunked out of all three of them, too.

(I think I might have been around ten or eleven when I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church, but I'm not positive because of the seizure condition. I know I was out of elementary school, though; young enough to start off in the Beehives group in Young Women's.)

I'm GLAD I got out of those schools, because it was too much for me to handle. The profanity, the other students talking about crude stuff constantly. . . I just couldn't stand it.

(If anyone has any questions about me or about any of this, I'll be glad to try to answer and expand on them)

I was looking over the link on the institute you went to. It seems they are against seizure meds.... So are you on meds? were you on meds? do you think it helped in seizure reduction?

My son has epilepsy and the med battle has been our biggest issue so I was just curious.

[ShannonTucker]

My name is Shannon Tucker. I am a hearing impaired person. I had lived w/o a hearing aid for 30 years. W/o the aid, I've learned to speak several languages and one of them is Dutch. I served in Holland from 1990-92. I had also had one year of French in school and studied before my mission Russian on my own. I picked up the German language when I was in Holland as well as other languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Swedish. And I had used these languages on my mission there.

I love the gospel. It has strengthen me when I thought all else was lost. Even after my parents divorced, I continued to be a missionary. I read my patriarchial blessing often (except for 13 years when it was lost), but after I got it replaced, I read it OFTEN. It is a wonderful blessing to have.

I have shared the gospel with many people, some of which thanked me for sharing it with them, but decided that they were not ready yet to change their faith.

I had been to many different Temples and have met people who were deaf or hearing impaired and have shared my testimony to them in sign language. They were amazed that I had learned signing on my own, from other people and from different movies that had signing in it. I even helped the missionaries when I had lived with my dad in Lincoln, Il with the missionaries that needed help with interpreting for them. I became a sign language specialist later after returning to Florida. I keep up with my Dutch language and my other languages that I have by reading the Book of Mormon in that language.

If you wish to know anything else from me, please let me know!!

Brother Shannon Tucker from Deep Creek Ward; Lake City, Florida.

[KellyLC]

It's great to meet you, Brother Tucker! I have a lot of questions, but sometimes I don't know how to go about asking them.

[estradling75]

Really you should just ask... Move on over to general discussion or LDS gospel discussion depending on the nature of your questions and ask.

[KellyLC]

I was looking over the link on the institute you went to. It seems they are against seizure meds.... So are you on meds? were you on meds? do you think it helped in seizure reduction?

My son has epilepsy and the med battle has been our biggest issue so I was just curious.

I'm sorry for the late reply, Gwen! I didn't see your post until now.

When I was going to the place in Philadelphia, I was taking more pills such as vitamin E, B-6, and on a totally sugar-free diet for a long time.

I've been on medicine all my life.

The anti-epileptic drugs I've been taking since the surgery are Dilantin, Keppra, and Vimpat. (My doctor's trying to get me on the Vimpat so he can cut back on the Dilantin) I'm also on a pill for high blood pressure, Verapamil.

I used to be on Paxil and Risperdal when I was in my last school, and I remember they had a bad reaction:

The Paxil caused me to gain weight. I'm guessing this other was the Risperdal, I found an article later saying it could "cause suicidal ideation" : I tried to do something crazy to myself and got put in Circles of Care overnight under a suicide watch. I personally feel those two pills made my seizures worse.

I wish I knew some way I could help.

Edited August 12, 2011 by KellyLC

[Spartan117]

I was looking over the link on the institute you went to. It seems they are against seizure meds.... So are you on meds? were you on meds? do you think it helped in seizure reduction?

My son has epilepsy and the med battle has been our biggest issue so I was just curious.

I had epilepsy, I was only on medication once, depakote. Made me real fat. I had 3 grand mal seizures (also known as a tonic-clonic) before I was prescribed anything. My neurologist (and a second opinion) could not explain why I was having seizures. I had the 3 grand mals over a span of about 2 years. After the second one they gave me the rx for depakote and kept me on it for 6 months. During those 6 months I had no seizure activity. They weren't sure if the medication was working so they stopped it to see what would happen. I had my 3rd and final seizure roughly 6 months after I stopped taking depakote. Since every test they ever ran said there was nothing wrong with me, they guessed my seizures might have been stress induced, or that I hit my mid twenties and simply had a few seizures. The last one was in 2006 and I've been seizure and medication free since then. Last year my neurologist cleared my diagnosis of epilepsy based on my seizure activity over the last 5 years (none) and on the same tests that gave them the same answers when I was having them. Those test results said that there was nothing wrong with me. Just like they did after I seized.

That's my experience. I know you weren't asking me but I thought it might be helpful nonetheless.

As far as medication specifically, all I ever took was depakote for 6 months, which caused me to gain about 50 pounds and lead to bi-weekly blood draws so they could test my liver functions. Apparently depakote can really hurt you. If I started having daily seizures I would NOT take that medication again. Did tons of harm and no one is even sure if it did it's job.

Benzos can increase your threshold for seizures, if that's an option for your son. If you can find the right one it may make a difference. I've been prescribed several members of the benzo family, but most just made me real tired and groggy. I take klonopin right now, and I do have trouble sometimes with drowsiness but I personally find it the most agreeable out of the group. The only side effect I encounter is the drowsiness and it's not something that would make me consider stopping or changing the medication. Benzos have anticonvulsive properties but is not considered ideal for treatment of epilepsy, especially long term because of tolerance and addiction issues. Withdrawal I've heard can be an issue as well. I personally have no problem with any of those issues whatsoever. Your son could very well react differently, obviously, but if you decide to give meds a try don't try depakote. Of all the available drugs that can be prescribed for seizure activity, benzos are lower on the risk factors than others. I say that based heavily on personal experience. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any help. I hope I have been.

[ZorabelMay]

Hello Kelly

[servantofgod]

Welcome Kelly,

You pull a lot of attention i see.

2 pages on introduction already.

Be blessed and have a great time on LDS.net forum.

With kind regards,

Leo

[sunshinewai]

hi there! interesting story

[kbean68]

I am not new to the religion just this chat. I don't chat much,

[KellyLC]

I know Heavenly Father gave me a clear prompting today. I saw a post on Facebook in a LDS group I'm a member of, Mormon Lounge:

Susan Lythgoe

PRAYER CALL: Can I ask anyone here for special prayers to be said for a little boy who is in intensive care with serious head injuries after a fall, please? His name is Elijah Adam Slade. I know his grandmother personally, so can assure you this is a genuine request. Heartfelt thanks in anticipation of your kind response xx

I hate when a child's hurt! I wish there was more I could do to help in these situations.

The second I read that post, I got so upset that I was crying. "Heavenly Father, please help him! I wish I could help. . ." In mid-prayer I heard a distinct, clear voice: "Find the number for the temple!"

I rushed to find one of our Sacrament programs, (I never get rid of our Sunday programs, I'm a pack rat) read the number for the Orlando Florida Temple off the back and yelled for my grandmother to call them. She's not a member of our faith, she's a Baptist,

She asked me what was wrong; I told her what had happened and asked her to add Elijah Adam Slade to their prayer roll. She called them and put his name on the list.

I know I'm not the only one praying for this little boy. As I make this post, I know he's on the Preston England temple prayer roll too.

Could I ask for further prayer requests for him?

Edited August 24, 2011 by KellyLC