A Christmas With Extra Challenges

Posted by Susanna McLeod Dec 23, 2008

As we celebrated last Christmas, we did not expect the changes to our family that came over the year. A wee granddaughter came along in February, a welcome addition adding to the delight we have with our two grandsons, both barely out of toddler-hood themselves. But this dear little girl arrived much too early. She suffers with severe brain damage that has threatened her young life several times already. Her life will be packed with challenges, the biggest at the moment being uncontrollable seizures called Infantile Spasms.

This baby’s condition does not permit the surgical answer that some others with epilepsy are able to receive. Dr. Wilder Penfield made huge leaps in the treatment of epilepsy while he lived in Canada in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Montreal Neurological Institute was founded by the specialist in 1934 and continues Dr. Penfield’s dedication to the research and treatment of neurological disorders. Our granddaughter’s seizures radiate from many sections of her brain, too many for any surgeon, no matter how skilled or brilliant, to have success.

This festive season, we look to the darkened night sky for the glittering star of Christmas. Our granddaughter cannot see the skies - she seems to be blind though her eyes are clear and bright. We will see them for her and wish upon the star that she will thrive. We hope that some day she will be able to share the pleasures of Christmas, the sights, the textures and the flavours that make the holiday so heart-warming and special. Christmas will be extra-special for our family this year because she is with us, day by day.

Merry Christmas, dear Canadian History readers. May the season bring you much joy.

Thank you to my Editor at Suite101 for allowing me the breathing room to be there for my family. I'll be back on the page soon.