reflection

Over the last week plus, the subject of pain has repeatedly come up. Every time someone finds out Bobby has kidney stones, they immediately mention how painful they are. Every time he has a new doctor or nurse come check on him, one of the first five questions is, "Are you having any pain?" Even his urologist of 8 years will start to check him and begin to ask, "Does this..." before stopping himself and saying, "I forgot. What symptoms are you having?"

Almost ten years ago I read a book titled Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey, published in 1988 by Zondervan. Dr. Brand grew up a missionary kid in India, then did his medical training in wartime England, then returned to India to work in Leprosy colonies. Much of the book is his medical biography of observations and studies, but it all centers around the fact that pain is a gift from God.

After this last week, I'm convinced more than ever how right Dr. Brand is. If Bobby had the sensation of pain, we probably would have been at the hospital weeks ago, and not after the infection was so severe it moved to the bloodstream. And yet, it fascinates me how complex God made our bodies, so that even when the pain sensation doesn't work, other areas kick in to say "Hey, there's a problem somewhere!" As much as I hate the suffering Bobby's been through, I shudder to think what might have happened had his body not reacted to the infection and the stone causing it.

As a general rule, quadriplegics don't sweat. That makes hot days extremely dangerous, as sweat is our body's mechanism for cooling itself. Yet, if something goes wrong, a quad's body will begin to sweat at the temples and neck - a sign of slightly elevated blood pressure saying, "Hey! There's a problem somewhere!" That problem could be something as simple as a shoe being tied too tight, or the need to shift in a seat. Eliminate the problem; eliminate the sweating. I just think it's so cool that our body is designed with backups for when things go wrong. Now if we can just find some secondary natural way of getting rid of kidney stones, we'll be in business.