Epilepsy Taught Me to Worry Less

Elaine Sinnott shares how her son’s epilepsy diagnosis ultimately taught her how to worry less and surrender to the Lord. 

The Diagnosis

“Micah, stop it! You’re scaring me!” my 12-year-old yelled. My heart sank as I heard these words; I knew something was very wrong.  

I turned the corner from the bathroom to see one of my 10-year-old twins convulsing on the couch, his lips turning blue as he foamed at the mouth.  

My husband was away for a National Guard weekend, so it was just me and our seven kids at home that Saturday afternoon.  

I rushed over to my son and tried the Heimlich at first, but realized he’d be coherent if he was choking. By then he had stopped moving and breathing, his eyes open and lifeless and his skin lacking color. A million things rushed through my mind in an instant as I lay him on his back on the living-room floor.

I immediately began doing my own loose version of CPR, having never been trained in it. I knew he needed blood pumped throughout his body for oxygen to continue reaching his brain. Micah actually responded with breaths, his arms flopping up a bit more with each breath. Finally, after one more breath, color rushed back to his face and he began breathing on his own again.  

The first responders arrived incredibly fast and they rushed in to tend to Micah, his oxygen level being at an 84 when they arrived.  

In the ambulance on the way to the local Erie hospital, I shot out a text to my prayer group, and prayers immediately began flooding heaven for Micah and our family. Our parish priest also arrived to anoint Micah in the hospital not long after we arrived. That spiritual support was crucial and something I will forever be grateful for! 

After hours of waiting and many tests, we eventually ended up at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh the following day where he was given an epilepsy diagnosis after an abnormal EEG. 

Somehow, through all of this, I remained calm.

Anxiety  

For the next week, as the diagnosis began to sink in, every time I closed my eyes at night, I saw my son’s lifeless eyes. I tossed and turned as unknowns weighed down my heart: doctor appointments to schedule, medicine to remember at exact times, and wondering if he’d sleep okay through the night.

Surrendering

This event was so completely out of my control that I was driven to my knees in prayer one morning a week after the diagnosis. I felt my first panic attack starting; my chest and breathing felt tight and all I wanted to do was cry.  

I finally started repeating the Surrender Prayer: “Jesus, I trust in You. Take care of everything.” 
 
With each prayer, in my mind, I handed Him every single worry that was heavy on my heart. What if Micah would have a seizure in the middle of the night? I handed it to Jesus. Will Micah’s MRI come back normal or abnormal? I handed it to Jesus. How long would he have to be on the medicine? I handed it to Jesus. None of these worries were meant for me to carry — I could not handle the weight of them all, but He could. 

I had also finished the book Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence: The Secret of Peace and Happiness a week before Micah’s seizure. Because of this gift of a book, I knew Micah was in the Father’s hands the entire time and that good would absolutely come from this terrible thing for our family. God permitted this to happen for a reason, and I had to trust all would be okay. In a way, God prepared me for this event in His goodness since I was open to reading this book, given to me by a friend.

“Do Not Worry.”

This experience taught me in a completely different way to remain calm inside when ANY worry arises.  

It taught me to go to the Jesus much sooner in times of trial, rather than as my last resort.  

Leaving greater amounts of time between the trial and going to Jesus leaves a wide gap that we tend to fill with our own anxieties. The sooner we go to the Lord in a trial, the less time we have to fill that gap with horrible worries that do no good for us. 

What trials have you been experiencing lately? Have you surrendered them to Jesus or first tried to take your own control of situations, which has only resulted in worry and panic?  

Dear friend in Christ, I challenge you to surrender these trials to our Lord as soon as possible. 

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) 

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Copyright 2025 Elaine Sinnott
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