One More Test

So I have been putting off writing this blog because I wanted to wait until we got the test done and the results in. We didn't want to tell people because we just didn't want to worry you. So please don't be offended or hurt. That wasn't our intention.

After Lucas was in the hospital back in May, we had a follow up visit with his pediatrician. He checked out Lucas and mentioned the possibility of testing Lucas for cystic fibrosis. I have heard of it before, but never really knew what it was. Please don't go looking it up on the internet because it is a little scary. You know how websites can be. He just mentioned testing him because of all of the breathing issues. The only thing that didn't make sense to me is the fact that Lucas doesn't have any eating issues which is a symptom of CF. So... I walked out of the office worrying. Which again, is why we didn't want to tell people. We didn't want you to have the same worries that we have had for over a month.

After the appointment, I was worried and a nervous wreck. So Matt told me to call Lucas' pulmonologist. She reaffirmed me that Lucas doesn't have CF. She said that it is asthma. He is responding to the asthma treatments and that he doesn't look like a CF child. She also said the pediatrician is looking for a "Zebra in a field of horses. Lucas is a horse." That made me feel better. Lucas is an asthmatic horse.

Even though we felt better after talking and meeting with the pulmonologist, we still couldn't get the CF possibility out of our minds. So we decided to go ahead and do the test. That way we would know for sure one way or the other. It is a painless and simple procedure. It is called a Sweat Test. They are looking for the salt levels in Lucas. They attach two probes to either your legs or arms. They send a little "shock" to the legs to open the pores. To the person getting the test, it feels like their leg is asleep. After this is done on each leg, then a cotton swab is put over the pores. Followed by wrapping the legs in saran wrap to make sure it collects the sweat. This stays on for 30 minutes. Then they run the cotton swabs through a machine.

So today we took Lucas in for the test. He was such a trooper and we are so proud of him. A long story short... Lucas DOES NOT have CF. We finally heard back from the doctor this evening. We are very relieved and now we know for sure it is JUST asthma. Here are some photos of Lucas.

Lucas playing with his dad's hat.

This is while we were waiting to check in.

Mr. Cool with his dad's shades.

He is such a happy boy.

Still waiting to be registered.

Finally we are registered.

Matt and Lucas are playing peek-a-boo to keep entertained.

Just a little note, we tried to put the wrist band on his leg, but it wouldn't fit around his chubby ankle.

This is Lucas' legs wrapped in the saran wrap.

Happy little man eating his breakfast in the hospital cafeteria.

Waiting the 30 minutes before we can take off the saran wrap.