Youth: The Ultimate Antiperspirant

Yesterday, my mother-in-law and I took the girls back to the hospital where they were born. Approaching the hospital campus, I was reminded of the day Jim and I drove to the hospital, expecting to be there for an hour or two at most for an ultrasound, and ended up staying over 10 weeks. Thankfully, this visit indeed lasted only a few hours! We had an appointment there for what’s called a Cystic Fibrosis “sweat test” for Susanna. Blood tests had determined that she was a carrier for CF, and although it was extremely unlikely that she had the disorder itself, the blood tests couldn’t rule out the possibility, so more testing was needed.

The sweat test sounds like a medieval torture device, or at least an exacting physical fitness routine. I had visions of them locking Susanna in a sauna-like box and cranking up the heat. Fortunately, the test is very mild and non-traumatic (although Susanna might disagree with me, if her loud protests were any indication!). They simply wrap a bracelet around each upper arm that holds a disc with medicine that causes the skin to sweat. Electrodes are also secured around the arm that use a mild electrical current to push the medicine into the skin. This only takes a few minutes, and the technician assured me it wasn’t painful. Those bracelets are then removed, and a device that resembles a wristwatch is wrapped around the upper arm. On the face of the watch is a thin, coiled tube with a puddle of blue food coloring at the center. As the skin sweats, the liquid is absorbed by the watch, turned blue by the dye, and advances through the tube. After half an hour or so, ideally enough liquid is collected that the technician can then test the sample for the presence of sodium and chloride, two substances that are found in abnormally high quantities in people who have CF. However, my little Susanna didn’t sweat enough for the tech to be able to test the sample. Evidently, children under seven pounds are usually unable to produce sufficient quantities of sweat, but we weren’t informed about that when we made our appointment. So, in a few weeks, back to the hospital we will go. In the meantime, please pray that Susanna becomes a sweaty mess so we don’t have to repeat this process yet again!

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go visit the maternity ward while we were at the hospital. When I approached the nurses’ station, they didn’t recognize me at first, because they weren’t used to seeing me upright and out of bed! I had the pleasure of introducing the girls to the dear nurses who took care of me this summer. It was such a joy to show them the fruit of my labor, which was the fruit of their labors!