With kids on the horizon and family histories filled with different diseases, Stephen and I decided to do a home genetics test. Although when you are preparing to have kids you get blood tests and urine tests -- extra ones if either partner is Jewish -- there are some diseases that are not routinely screened for (such as whether you are a carrier for cystic fibrosis, or Maple Syrup Urine). With Stephen's father having just passed away from complications of Parkinson's and Alzheimers (at age 63) we thought we might as well head into this parenthood thing with as much understanding as we can. (Note: those two diseases are not on the list - but at least we can rule out most other issues)
To administer the test, you have to provide a saliva sample and fedex it to the lab. It takes 2 weeks to get your results. And unfortunately, you are spared the bedside manner of a doctor as you log in to get your results online, but in general its quick, easy and fairly priced.
So when Stephen said I'd need to give a saliva sample, I thought it would be a swab - like how it was when I registered myself on the bone marrow donor's list. But I came home today to a vial that I had to fill. The packaging warned me it would take 2 to 5 minutes to fill and I felt lucky that I ended up on the low end of that spectrum. 2 minutes of expectorating into a tube is not fun! I felt mighty queasy afterwards.
But our packages are all set to go out tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see what the results look like. And maybe a little scary, too. But mostly I'll focus on the "interesting" part for now.
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