God is in the Band-Aids

When we walked across the bridge into Hopkins the Friday after Thanksgiving, I said, “Who thought THAT was a good idea? They look like Band-Aids!” Everywhere I looked out any glass surface, I had to look through marks on the glass that were beige-ish in color, about 2-3 inches long, horizontal with a slight curve. Just like a Band-Aid.

Over the course of our week at Hopkins, these Band-Aids became more and more of an irritant. Every time I looked out over the city of Baltimore I had to look through – not just some designer’s disruption of the view (which was actually pretty nice from the 12th floor) I had to look through Band-Aids! In a hospital!!

I drive home one night after about 2 hours of non-consecutive sleep on a rant about these Band-Aids. I’m not known for cussing and I called my girlfriend and let out a sailor-worthy string of expletives. All about the Band-Aids. And of course my parallel frustration that we weren’t learning anything new. Sure, Hopkins was as we were their lab rats. I wasn’t.

I had asked people to pray for seizures and they did start to build. And every morning the team would come in and say “We didn’t see any electrical charges that would indicate seizures last night.” I remember thinking in my cynical mean mind that it was because there were too many freakin’ Band-Aids and they couldn’t see through them.

Then one morning I woke up and read a reflection about God and realized He was there. Guiding all of this. And He had led us to Hopkins on several occasions previously, not one of them when I actually wanted to go. I softened. I thanked God. And I walked in faith thought the Band-Aids every time I entered and exited the hospital.

On the morning we discharged, the attending came in and said, “We saw a seizure last night. And because we saw that we were able to figure out what was happening. Rather than spiking the EEG waves, she flattens. And now we have a very clear pattern.” And for the first time I was actually, truly, honestly-in-my-heart grateful for seizures.

So we know a little more. We now walk down the experimental trial-and-error road of anti-seizure medications. Catherine got the electrodes removed and had a spa-like shampoo. And we walked out through all the Band-Aids. This time though – God was in those Band-Aids.