waynesville north carolina looks like a
lot of american small towns
right down to this saturday morning
scene at the roper house on chestnut
park lane
actually there's something very special
going on here
this is d rover and his son steve
stevie was born nine years ago with a
very rare physical condition
lacking sweat glands his body has no
natural way to cool itself
until recently too much physical
activity or even limited activity on hot
days could have been tragic for him
but thanks to the concerned efforts of a
diverse group of people stevie now has a
way to beat the heat a liquid-cooled
outfit based on nasa technology
this small pump and heat exchanger cools
and recycles fluid through a vest and
hat a system similar to that used in
astronaut space suits
stevie can wear the outfit while
exercising if it's convenient or simply
put it on intermittently to cool down
it's made a tremendous difference in his
life and came about because of stevie's
aunt tootsie moody one day last summer
her daughter had stevie in the car when
he began to suffer from the heat
she pulled over to the side of the road
saw a lady that was watering her garden
took the water hose out of the lady's
hand squirted his body down cooled his
temperature now
got him home called me and said mom i've
never been so scared all my life well
right then is when i decided that
something needed to be done stevie's
aunt called nasa's langley research
center in hampton virginia and was put
in touch with john samos and thayer
sheets in the technology utilization
office they recalled an article in a
nasa spin-off publication about liquid
cooled garments being used by
firefighters pilots and race car drivers
thanks to the cooperation of the company
making the outfits and a fundraising
effort by a restaurant chain and norfolk
nightclub owner stevie got his suit
it's meant newfound freedom and peace of
mind not only for him but for his whole
family casey come on to dinner
stevie's performance in sue smart's
fourth grade class at central elementary
has also improved
before the cool suit he was constantly
getting drinks or applying cold towels
this made it difficult for him to
concentrate and get his assignments done
now if he gets too hot he simply dons
the suit and continues working
but probably the most significant factor
is that he's in school more often
because the suit has reduced his
susceptibility to respiratory ailments
like bronchitis or pneumonia
as a result his grades are coming up
and he is definitely doing better
the effort with stevie has been so
successful that his aunt is now heading
a national foundation
its goal is to do the same for the other
400 children in this country with
stevie's condition
bring space technology
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