I first noticed them the day after we returned from our trek to Panchase. They were little tiny bumps on the sides of my fingers, where the fingers meet the palm. I thought it was weird but wasn’t too concerned. After two months on the Race, I have numerous unidentified bumps, bites, and scrapes on my arms and legs, so what were a few more? I assumed they might be some type of bite. After a few days, the bumps grew in size and in number and began showing up on other part of my hands – the tops of my fingers, my thumb, etc. They were more like tiny blisters at this point. They never itched or hurt, so again, I wasn’t too concerned.
Fast forward to Debrief. We spent the week in Brasov with the squad. We had hot showers, electricity, and yes, internet. So I did some research and came up with some inconclusive results. It could be eczema (which I’ve never had before), or an allergic reaction to certain detergents, soaps, nickel, certain plants, etc. I’ve used some odd soaps in Nepal, and we did spend two days in the woods.
By the end of Debrief, I decided I should try to seek medical advice. Antibacterial cream was doing nothing, and the problem was worsening. Although my hands still didn’t itch or really hurt, they were very irritated. I can’t quite describe it, other than to imagine having a giant blister covering your whole finger.
We got to Pitesti, our ministry site for the month, to discover we had more hot water, electricity, and yes, internet (oh, life on the mission field. . . ). So more research. I went to a few sites, and then I saw it. A picture on a website that might as well have been a picture of my hand. I knew I had found what I was looking for and started reading. I didn’t like what I read. According to the site, the bumps on my hands were symptoms of a “chronic skin disease” that can affect a person for the rest of their life. There were stories there of people who suffer from this thing. It was awful. One lady said, after TWENTY YEARS of having this problem, she started to wear gloves in public because she felt like a leper. The pictures were worse. And apparently, there’s no “cure.” Oh, and an “episode” lasts anywhere from several weeks to several months. Great.
There was a section on the site called “Living With the Disease.” Living with it? I went from fine to having a chronic skin disease that could last forever? What was going on here?
I decided to ask our contact about the possibility of seeing a dermatologist. He said that would be fine but that it would be a few days. Fine.
As my fingers got worse, so did my fear. I started waking up in the morning and checking my hands. I checked to make sure they weren’t spreading to my palms. Not my palms, Lord. I need my fingers. (I’m a musicians just FYI. I would really like to maintain the use of my fingers.) I started picking at them and popping the blisters, which would make them bleed sometimes. Hot water and the cold air outside made them worse. My hands looked disgusting, and although, again, they never hurt, the backs of my hands began to itch like crazy. Scratching them would cause dozens more blisters to show up. I was obsessing over my hands. I had to ask Kristen and Suzi to watch me and make sure I wasn’t picking, like a drug addiction or something.
So this whole process took place over two weeks. Finally, during team time this past Tuesday, my team was in a circle, holding hands and praying, and I just started sobbing. I didn’t even know I was that upset over it, but I couldn’t help it. Everything just sort of came out. (I’ve only cried twice on the Race, so it’s not something I do regularly, by the way). Anyway, my teammates immediately laid their hands on mine and prayed for healing and comfort. Not like, Dear Lord, help Erin’s hands. Like seriously called down some Holy Spirit. Prayed with confidence that their prayers were heard and would be answered.
“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and annoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess our sins to each other so that you may he healed. The prayer of a righteous man if powerful and effective.”
JAMES 5:14-16
That was Tuesday night. By Thursday morning, my hands were 90% healed. The blisters are completely gone now. My hands have scabs at the base of my fingers where the blisters were most concentrated, but there is no pain, no itching, so swelling.
Prayer works. Jesus heals. Amen to that.
