Josh Provides - Epilepsy Assistance Foundation

By Megan Pineda

I struggled to write this. Not because I felt like I had nothing to say or that my son’s story isn’t important, but because the seizure diagnosis for Jonathan was one of the most challenging times in our lives.

I have always believed that God is in control. My faith was tested the day we walked into the doctor’s office. I was convinced that we were seeing a reaction or a side effect of medication. I remember sitting in the office thinking it would be a super simple visit, like many doctors’ appointments before. I will never forget the moment when the doctor said she was pretty sure Jonathan was having absence seizures. I had no idea what that was. I thought she must be wrong. We don’t have any family history of seizures. I was in denial.

We followed the doctor’s advice and made an appointment with the neurologist. Sure enough – absence seizures.  I remember bringing him back to school that day. I went to the principal’s office to give her the update so she would be aware of what was happening so he could be safe. No sooner did the words leave my lips, and I was crying. He has just moved to this new school, and here I am with the principal who I’ve known for a month, crying my eyes out! She was very kind and understanding. Since then, the school has been an amazing safe haven for both of our boys.

The next few months felt like years with tons of doctor appointments trying to figure out the best treatment and medication to help our little boy. I felt guilty, like somehow this was my fault. I kept asking myself, “Why my son?” I had so many questions and few answers. All we wanted was to give Jonathan the best possible future.

I turned my fear and anger about the situation into a fight on behalf of my son. I started to advocate for my son, while also finding a way to accept the situation and learn how to deal with it.

Part of learning to deal with Jonathan’s epilepsy has been to acknowledge how blessed we are. We have an amazing family support system. The doctors have been wonderful. After some time, his neurologist had been able to get him on track with medications. Just when we thought we had a handle on it, Jonathan’s seizures became what they call “light seizures,” which means that instead of being immobile during a seizure, he is now mobile, but unaware of what’s happening. You can imagine how scary it is when we see a seven-year-old walking onto the road or walking in front of a swing on the playground. We were back at square one. He couldn’t go anywhere without us holding his hand and watching his every move. 

One day, we were at Jonathan’s occupational therapy session, when the young woman at the front desk, Ashton, told us she was a puppy-raiser for Topaz Assistance Dogs. She told us about how they train service dogs, and she thought Jonathan would be a great candidate. When I spoke with Shoshana, the trainer, I felt for the first time that someone really understood what we were going through. Another wonderful blessing from God, giving us someone who understood.

The hardest part of the training process is raising funds for the dog. We decided to pray and trust that if this dog was going to improve the quality of life for Jonathan, we would be able to raise the necessary funds. 

Again, we were blessed. Our families, friends, and our church family, Oasis, contributed funds to help us. It was so wonderful, but unfortunately, it still was not enough. Shoshana told us about JoshProvides, and that we could apply for a grant to help with the cost and hopefully get us to our goal amount. I remember filling out the application and submitting the paperwork thinking, “Well this is it, God, if it’s meant to be it will happen.”

I got the best phone call from Josh Provides saying Jonathan was picked for the grant to get the dog! Once again in our journey, I was left speechless at everyone’s generosity and God’s provision. A whole new world opened to me, introducing me to people who were going through similar challenges with their epilepsy journey.

The hardest thing for a parent to do is watch their child have a seizure. The only thing you can do is wait and pray they come out of it. I want to remind parents like me that you are not alone. You have an amazing community that can help you and be there for you and your family. I will always be thankful for everyone God put in our path to help us along the way.

Jonathan is now twelve years old, and he is living his best independent life. His seizure response dog, Bixby, is his amazing companion.

All because of people like Ashton, Shoshana, Topaz, our family, friends and Josh Provides.

This is one grateful momma!