A Miracle of Great News

Carborendum · May 11, 2023

My daughter sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

For as long as she can remember she has suffered from a visual condition. When she was really young, she didn't know there was anything wrong. As she grew older, the problems were worse. Eventually as a teenager, she began verbalizing them. We couldn't really comprehend how bad it was from her scant descriptions. So, I tried working with her using typical home-remedy type things. I was guessing what the problems might be. Non-invasive techniques were the go-to thing at the time.

Eventually, as I worked with her more and more, and hearing her verbalize more and more, I began realizing that there was something severely wrong with her.

We took her to optometrists and ophthalmologists. We even took her to nutritionists and allergy doctors. That's how wide-ranging the symptoms were. None of them could diagnose what was going on. But one ophthalmologist referred us to a neuro-ophthalmologist. This meant that the problem was not with her eyes, but with her brain.

The doctor did many scans and researched much over the course of three visits. Her final diagnosis was "Visual Snow." She sadly informed us that there was no cure. The industry has just barely realized that this was a thing. They didn't know what caused it or what was going on. All they knew was "something is wrong." And she also described several common symptoms. My daughter had all of them.

She referred us to another doctor who told us that there was a theoretical procedure being developed, and they need patients for trials. So, he said he'd get us contact information. YEY!!! We had hope!

Then COVID... No calls, no emails, the office was closed. No way to get a hold of that doctor or any group that he knew about.

We were lost. It was a dead end. No hope.

My daughter served a mission. She had a lot of difficulty. But she shoved herself through the experience. And she came home to try to fit in and dive into her adult life. She figured she would follow after her brother who learned CAD. She always liked drawing. To draw on a computer was just a different medium. And she loved making floorplans. But the ultimate goal was to draw land, water, etc. This took special software which my son has mastered.

She did fine with Euclidean shapes that are often used on a house. But when she got to earth and water, these were non-Euclidean shapes. And when there were many overlapping/crossing lines her vision made it impossible to go beyond a certain point. While she could try to break into the housing market, these drafters are a dime a dozen. She'd need to have much more experience to make it. But if she were to get into land development, she'd be a shoe-in at any major company.

Disappointment set in. She decided to pursue a different field.

Around this time, I was asking for a miracle to heal her. I've experienced a lot of miracles in my life (including healing). I have learned to trust in the Lord. I wanted to call on the Lord yet again.

When there was another severe illness in the family, the extended family got together to fast for another family member. At that time my FIL altered the Matthew passage to: "This kind goeth not out but by much prayer and fasting." Weary Him until He blesses us.

So, I asked my family to fast for her. We fasted and prayed for her every week. I was intending to do this until Christmas this year. At that point I would give her a blessing and she would be healed. So went the plan...

But over the past month or so, several lessons from church and speeches from General Conference and Stake Conference, all fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Any one piece seemed to have nothing to do with my daughter. But when they all came together in my mind, I heard Brigham Young's quote:

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Pray as if everything depends on the Lord. Then do as if everything depends on you.

I thought I already tried everything that mortal men can do. I took her to several specialists. That was during a time when my business was slow. It cost a lot. And it's not like I could operate on her brain. So, what was within my capabilities that I was neglecting?

Then the words "Visual Snow" came to my mind again.

What about it?
Yes. What about it?

It occurred to me that I was supposed to learn more about it.

There's a cure now?
You know what to do.

I immediately began doing web searches. I came across a path that diverged, but I was guided on which path to take. Again and again.

Long story short, I found out that there is not exactly a "cure", but there is a treatment to greatly diminish the symptoms to allow people to live a normal life.. And one of the two doctors who pioneered this treatment is in Dallas. It's a bit of a drive, but it is absolutely worth it. She just had her initial assessment and testing.

When she came home she said one very remarkable thing:

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All my life, it felt like I had to describe what I was experiencing and no one had a clue what I was saying. With this doctor, he was simply asking me if I had these (dozens of) symptoms. And when I asked him to define the technical terms, he began describing my symptoms to me. Finally! A doctor who knew what was happening to me. And now I know the technical terms for all this weirdness!

The next three months will be the proof in the pudding. But we are very hopeful. We're continuing the fast until her treatment is complete.

There is so much more I could say about this. I'll forbear because it would bore most people. But it was all very important to me as I experienced it.

We may not see a complete cure here. But she has been walking around with 100lb weights on her feet. Even if all we do is make it so she has 50 lb weights on her feet, she will be unstoppable.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Carborendum