We are often got asked very carefully, "And does the sister also have a special disease.... ?" The short answer is: no! :-) Below is a shout-out to a little girl who had to grow up way too fast in function of the big sister.
Epilepsy is not contagious. Even though there are possible forms of
epilepsy that are hereditary, DNA testing has shown that this is
not the case for Ella-Marie. The thing is, sister Olivia
sympathizes with the issue every day. In fact, she has never known
otherwise, as the first seizure ever came when Olivia was 3 months
old.
Brus
Olivia is, what they call in Flemish, a "brus." This is a sibling of someone who needs care because of a chronic illness, intellectual disability, physical disability or serious mental illness. The term is mostly used for children. In fact, there have been several studies on the (emotional) effect on "brussen".
In Olivia's case, we can only be immensely proud of how she handles the situation. As a baby, she sometimes had to wait while crying because Ella-Marie was having an attack. Even now it is the case that we want to give both children equal attention, but it is obvious that if medical intervention is needed, Ella-Marie comes first. This is not at all easy and once again therefore the shout-out to the heftiest little sister in the whole world:
Dear Olivia,
We cannot stress enough how important you are to us. From day 1 you have made us proud, simply because you are "our" Olivia.
It must be your mom's good genes, but the way you walk through the school adventure is so incredibly amazing. Math, reading, writing ... at a young age you were off and running with it. Now you're in elementary school and going through the learning years as if you were going on a nice Sunday morning walk. We were told by several teachers that you have tremendous abilities and that you have become very mature very quickly. Right now, no school challenge is too big and no math or language challenge can confuse you. And should one day there be something you don't quite get, know that we will always be there for you. Mommy with lots of love and cuddles, daddy with craziness and sports fun.
Because you also excel in the latter. How come you are so agile? Not from mom or dad! How come you're so active? Definitely from daddy! :-)
How proud we were that first time you participated in the gymnastics championships. The whole time we were hoping that you could get that 3rd place and enjoy yourself on the podium. We were truly amazed when you were called forward as champion! But it is not only gymnastics in which you excel! Field running, dancing, even that little bit of soccer you sometimes play, all work out incredibly well. So a garden with a trampoline, a small stretching pole and playground equipment with rings ensure that you have your daily outlet.
And of course we are incredibly proud of the way you handle the situation. You are now 7 years old and every day you do help to make your sister as comfortable as possible. Setting the table for breakfast in the morning, improving your sister's homework in the evening, reading a book together, imitating great tiktok dances and most of all having fun together. And then if there is an attack, you will protect your sister well. Making sure she is on the ground, protecting her head, providing tetrad cloths for saliva.
It is said that brusses are empathetic and take a lot of responsibility. If they are ever looking for a study person for confirmation, you are the perfect example!
Dear Olivia, you are a true champion!
