The Incredible Inedible Egg

This is my first year running the Junior Scholars Program at Abilene Christian University. Junior Scholars is a five week program where students live on campus and take 6 hours before their senior year in High School. We have 38 very bright, fun students. However, it is not a camp. I have heard it called that 6 times so far. Why would you go to a camp where you have to go to school?

Anyway, we are a week and a half into the session and nothing has gone wrong yet. Everyone gets along. There have been no complaints. No one has even missed class (c'mon, this is supposed to be like college!). Everything has gone well. Too well...

Yep...almost lost a Junior Scholar last night.

One of my kids, we'll call her "Claire" (since that is her name), had a massive allergic reaction to something that she ate. We all knew she had severe food allergies, but obviously...they aren't kidding around. She is allergic to all kinds of foods, especially eggs and milk. She has been very careful with what she has eaten. Campus Dining has been very careful with what she has eaten. They even fixed her a special dinner last night. They made meatballs, steamed rice and plain green beans. Bland, but non-life threatening.

But it seems the pre-packaged meatballs were held together by a thin egg wash. This is bad for Claire. She had an allergic reaction to the point that the EMS guys had to breathe for her. Scary stuff.

So, I rush to the hospital (from across town) and get there only to find out the ER people won't tell me anything and if I so much as go near the doors, they will call the police to haul me off. I proceed to sit down in the waiting area and try to get a hold of her parents...who are in Tennessee. Yep...she's from Tennessee. That is 900 miles away...

As a few of us sit and wait...we continue to pray, and pray, and pray. Finally, the nurse comes out and says, "I'm looking a for a Corey Patterson". My heart drops and I go back while the nurse says nothing. This is bad. After what seemed like an hour we got to the trauma room door. "You can go see her", she says. Thanks for the scare, ma'am. I go in and see Claire...she has been through the war, but God had saved her. Greatness. It was such a joy to talk to her and her parents. We sat together and laughed and thanked God for 5 1/2 hours.

God is amazing. He answered prayers and blessed all of our lives. He has done great work in the last 24 hours. He is worthy to be praised.

But, enough seriousness for a moment...here is my question. Claire is very allergic to eggs. If I cracked an egg over her hand and she didn't clean it off immediately, she would swell up. But, she can eat all of the chicken she wants. How can someone be allergic to eggs, but not be allergic to chicken? Are you kidding? Aren't eggs baby chickens? Aren't chickens grown up eggs? How is this possible? Which brings up that whole "which came first...eating chicken or not eating eggs?" If you were allergic to eggs...wouldn't you be a little hesitant to even try chicken? The human body is a strange thing.

But at least Claire is here to help me answer these questions...Praise God!