I made a big decision recently: I bought a 23andMe DNA kit and have submitted my saliva sample so I can learn more about myself — at least the stuff that DNA testing can tell.
One of the things it can reveal is my proclivity to contract certain diseases and/or health conditions. This is a black box for me because I’m adopted. My whole life, whenever I see a doctor and they ask about my family medical history I have to say, “I don’t know.” I have no idea if my parents had any diseases or conditions that could’ve been passed on to me. For me, it’s really the only downside to being adopted — the not knowing.
I posted the photo above on Twitter not long ago, and one of my followers asked, “Are you afraid?” It’s a legit question: Would YOU want to know if you have the potential to contract a serious or even terminal disease?
I thought about it for a moment and tweeted back, “No.” I’m not afraid. I’m tired of the not knowing. I’m tired of shrugging my shoulders every time I see a doctor and they want to know about my medical history. I want to know. 23andMe won’t tell me all the answers; I may have to track down my biological parents for that, and I’m giving that some thought for the first time in my life.
But in the meantime, I need as much information as possible. And I’m ready for 23andMe to tell me whatever it can. No fear. God is in control. Whatever will be, will be. And I’d rather know than not.
1 Comment
Gutsy move Matt, I never thought about what it would be like not knowing my family’s health history. That would be a lot scarier to me than the test. Huntington’s Disease run’s in my wife’s family, and now mine, they have a test available to know 100% whether or not my wife has the recessive gene. She won’t do it. I quit bugging her about it eventually, but I would rather know so we can take proactive steps to combating its effect beforehand. Good luck with your test!