BY SHERI TRUSTY • News Herald correspondent • August 20, 2009 ELMORE — Carson Slates was born with a smile that will melt you
and a body that will break your heart. As a newborn, Carson — who will be 2 in October — was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. “In each cell, there’s a chloride channel and a sodium channel, said Carson’s aunt, Brittany Perkins. “His chloride channel does not work. “It gets backed up from the sodium chloride. It clogs the digestive track and doesn’t allow you to absorb food properly, and it stays in the lungs.” Carson’s body does not produce pancreatic enzymes, which help with food digestion, Perkins said. Because of that he, like many CF patients, has trouble gaining weight. Treatment consists of taking supplemental enzymes each time he eats.
To counteract lung problems, he gets aerosol breathing treatments and daily chest physio-therapy, in which a soft plastic implement is driven against his chest to loosen the mucus in his lungs.