Samuel the Superhero

 

My mom used to always say “It’s amazing what someone can do when they have to.”

My Son Samuel is a superhero.  He was diagnosed with Epilepsy when he was three years old.  There are five major types of seizures someone with epilepsy will typically have that range from them looking like they are just staring absentmindedly, all the way to a Tonic-clonic seizure, more commonly known as a grand-mal seizure, where they are full on convulsing on the ground.  Samuel experiences every one of these five types, sometimes all in one day.  He can have as few as six seizures one week, and then as many as 400 seizures the following week, and has even gone months at a time having one continuous seizure.  We have tried every natural and traditional intervention we have ever found, with nothing that has made a lasting impact on this condition.  In other words, this is something Samuel has to go through.

Samuel is not a superhero because he endures seizures.  Like my mother said, if someone HAS to do something and they do it, it can be amazing, but ultimately, that’s just human nature and their will to survive.  The reason Samuel is a superhero is because of the things he does that he DOESN’T have to do.

Samuel’s epilepsy is a constant struggle for him.  He’s had seizures that have propelled him into urinals while he’s gone to the bathroom in a public toilet, he’s had to be taken to the hospital many times for seizures themselves, as well as getting stitches for accidents caused by seizures.  He’s gotten black eyes, and bruised every inch of his body at some point because of a seizure.  He’s also had periods of time where he couldn’t speak, and days and weeks when his seizures are so bad, he can’t even keep his drool in his mouth.  Despite all of these things, there is one thing his epilepsy has never done to him. 

His epilepsy has never made him unhappy.

I have seen my son go through more suffering than I can even comprehend.  In the past, I have gone through periods of dark depression that have lasted months as I wrestle with the reality of his suffering, yet, throughout all of this, my son has never become unhappy. 

This is Samuel’s superpower, and this is why he is my superhero.  The Gif on this post is a moment two days ago where he’s opening a sticker book.  The same sticker book he has received and completed over a dozen times.  It’s hard to see in the gif, but he has a black and swollen left eye because he hit his head from a seizure earlier.  Despite his pain, this is my son.  Anyone who knows Samuel knows that he is a truly happy person.  There is only Joy in his little heart.  There are so many tough times, but he always bounces back (literally) with the same unfading light that shines in his eyes.

Jesus once told his disciples, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.”  I think he must have been speaking directly to my Samuel.  Throughout his life, there have been so many times where my light has gone out, but his never has.  His light and example of joy in the midst of suffering is a superpower.

It’s amazing what someone can do when they have to, but Samuel is my superhero because of what he does when he DOESN’T have to.