First instinct... Pray

At the end of the first semester of my freshman year, I was asked by my chemistry professor, Dr. El-Bermawy, if I was willing to be his teacher’s assistant starting in January. I had excelled in and become very passionate about chemistry during my first semester. Dr. El- Bermawy was an incredible teacher, and I was honored at the thought of working under him. Of course, I said yes and could not wait to start my new job. I would be prepping for the Chemistry 112 class, mixing chemicals, cleaning the lab, and grading papers. I knew I would learn more about chemistry than I had ever imagined, but when I took the job, I did not realize how dangerous chemistry could be.

Most students enrolled in Chemistry 112 had never taken a chemistry class in their lives and needless to say, were not majoring in chemistry. Since their knowledge of chemistry was thin, I had to be careful what kinds of chemicals they used in their lab experiments. Dr. El-Bermawy and I would sit down before each lab and decide what chemicals the students would be using and which ones were too dangerous for them. I would then go to the chemical supply room and prepare the chemicals.

One Friday afternoon, I went to prep for lab as usual. I had already spoken to Dr. El- Bermawy and discussed which chemicals needed to be set out in the lab. As I was going through the list I realized that dichloromethane was needed for this lab. I read the list of chemicals again and thought, “Isn’t that too toxic for these students to use?” Dr. El-Bermawy did not say the students would not use dichloromethane so I figured they would need it. It was located in the bright yellow fireproof cabinet with skulls and crossbones all over it. The words “FLAMMABLE” and “HAZARDOUS” were written on this cabinet. I had always been a little nervous even when opening the cabinet let alone handling the chemicals in it! I found the dichloromethane in the cabinet, but of course, it was in a huge stock bottle. Huge stock bottles of chemicals cannot be put out on the counter for students to use because they could contaminate the whole bottle of expensive chemicals. I had to pour out some dichloromethane from this heavy stock bottle into a smaller bottle for the students to use. I was starting to perspire just thinking about having to pour this huge bottle of liquid into a smaller bottle. I took the stock bottle to the hood so the fumes could easily escape the building, put my goggles on, and found a smaller, empty bottle already labeled dichloromethane.

As I took the lid off of the stock bottle, I saw gas and fumes escaping from the bottle as fast as could be. Shaking a little, I began pouring the liquid from the massive bottle into the funnel of the smaller bottle. The instant the liquid hit the bottom of the bottle, the funnel blew off the bottle and the liquid exploded up. The liquid went all over my hands and arms and a little dripped down my leg. I sprinted to the sink, turned on the water, and jumped in. When chemicals are spilled on a person, the person must put that body part under running water for twenty minutes. There was a shower head I could have pulled in the chemical supply closet, but I knew it would flood the room and I did not want to clean up that mess so I just jumped in the large sink. As I was sitting in the sink with water running down my body, I just prayed. At this point, I had nowhere else to turn but to God for help. The damage was already done; I was doused in dichloromethane and the only person able to help me now was God. At that moment, I was so thankful for all of my limbs, and I thanked God for all of them. I was sure that one of my limbs were going to fall off and I wanted to cry. I was shaking from head to toe out of nervousness, but I gave all of my worries to God. I asked him to protect me from this chemical and let the water rinse it all away. While in the sink, I read the bottle of dichloromethane hoping it was not as dangerous as I had thought, but it did not offer any comfort. The label read, “TOXIC! Do not consume, and do not let it touch skin. The skin will absorb the chemical and the chemical will enter the bloodstream going straight to the heart. The heart will stop beating, resulting in death.” The first sign of chemical poisoning was uncontrollable shaking in the hands and feet. Well, I already was shaking uncontrollably, but I figured it was out of fear. I prayed for the remaining twenty minutes, and eventually the shaking stopped. The twenty minutes was over and other than being bright red from the cold water, my limbs looked normal and were still attached. I prayed one last time that my body was healthy and the water did its job. To my surprise, the liquid that had spilled all over the counter had evaporated so there was no mess to clean up. I put the lid on the stock bottle and put the dicholormethane back in the fireproof cabinet for Dr. El-Bermawy to pour.

Looking back on this experience, I realize how powerful prayer is. Not only did God calm me as I sat shaking in the sink, he saved my limbs. I am happy to say all four of my limbs are still attached, and I am so thankful for each of them. God taught me another important lesson that day. Before this incident, chemicals did not scare me. I felt invincible, that chemicals could not harm me. Now, I am much more careful when dealing with any chemical in the laboratory, whether starch or hydrochloric acid, I am on high alert and very cautious when mixing, making, and pouring chemicals. I am glad I learned this lesson my freshman year of college since I am majoring in pre-medicine and have many more years of working with chemicals. I realize how dangerous chemicals are and how comforting it is to cast your cares upon God when a situation spins completely out of your control.