Are You Locked In?

Not to ruin it for you, but last night’s episode of the show “House” featured a patient suffering from “locked-in syndrome”. The character, portrayed by hip-hop star Mos Def, was almost completely paralyzed. He could only communicate through blinking his eyes. The paralysis was supposedly a side effect of Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease carried most commonly through animal urine. With that disgusting side note behind us, I will further discuss locked-in syndrome. Caused by a brain stem lesion, locked-in syndrome has been described as “the closest thing to being buried alive”. Imagine being completely awake and aware, yet unable to use any of your voluntary muscles. Your cognitive functioning is in full working order, yet you remain trapped within your own body. It’s pretty scary stuff.
In 1999, 16-year-old Erik Ramsey suffered a stroke after a car accident that led to locked-in syndrome. He is now working with doctors to develop a communication system that uses a computer to translate electronic brain signals in to words and sounds. Currently, Erik can only communicate by moving his eyes up or down. While Erik most likely yearns for the ability to speak, so many of us remain silent. We lie still, as if we are slaves to our bodies. Each of us has the ability to incite change and bring hope in to this world. I constantly go back to Romans 12 in which Paul talks about us all being part of the body of Christ. The gospel should not be locked in the body of Christ. We should be using every resource, ability, and gift that we have in order to be Jesus in this world.