The story of my daughter Harper is that everybody’s life, even if they have special needs, has a purpose.
My daughter Harper Elle Howard was born on April 12, 2010, with a very rare, non-hereditary, life-threatening genetic disorder called CDKL5 epilepsy — at just two weeks old, she started experiencing seizures that were so severe, my husband Dustin and I (and Harper’s big sister Lily) were very frightened.
We were just a couple from Carrollton, Texas, and were totally unprepared for what lay ahead. But Harper’s journey held more in store both for others and for our family than we ever could have imagined.
When does your absolute terror as a parent turn into an inspiring story for people around the world? While you’re living it, it’s impossible to tell ...
At 19 months old, Harper had a huge surge of seizures that seemed to just steal everything from her, and that’s when she became almost like a vegetable. At worst she was having 40-plus seizures a day.
“Traditional” pharmaceutical meds were totally ineffective at controlling Harper’s seizures and, even worse, sometimes left her catatonic.
As hard as it is to say, I used to lay in bed with her every night and cry and every morning in the shower pray that if God didn’t heal Harper he’d just show her mercy and take her home to be at peace.
Looking back, I should have known then that Harper’s life had some kind of greater purpose ... but things like that are often impossible to see when you’re living them in the moment, day by day.
In 2013, after watching Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s CNN special “Weed” and endless hours of research online, we found a CBD oil from hemp called RSHO - and really, that’s the only thing that not only brought us hope, but stopped Harper’s seizures ... completely.
I’ll never forget giving the CBD oil to Harper and seeing the immediate impact it had on her quality of life. Within the first three days we had eye contact and verbalization sounds from her, an attempt to interact with us physically and she was now able to show us that she was with us mentally. It wasn’t long before she went a day without a seizure! And then another day without a seizure!
Before we knew it she was at 45, 50 then 60 days without a seizure. Harper even came out of her stupor, her shell, and interacted with the family, we got her little personality back. She got to meet her baby brother Seth after he was born late in 2014.
How was this even possible? After three years of living in hell there was finally light! Harper does not simply exist here on Earth but rather she lives!
But, believe it or not, that was nothing. Harper’s miracle actually laid half a world away...
A Mothers Love
Penny Howard
53