We've been fingerprinted - sort of

Yesterday we went for our fingerprinting appt. This is the last step before we can get our immigration clearance and the immigration clearance is the last thing we need for our dossier. I was very excited because we got our fingerprinting appt. quicker that I anticipated. I heard from other local adoptive parents that it's no big deal, best to show up at 8:00 when they open and you can get in and out pretty quick. About what you would expect - fill out a form, take a number, wait to be called. Didn't take us too long to be called, so far so good. When they do the fingerprints, they do it digitally (no ink) and do all ten fingers. Jon's fingerprints were done in a matter of minutes. Mine on the other hand, totally different story. Apparently I have no fingerprints. Well, I guess it isn't that bad, but they could not get a good print from over half of my fingers!!!! I did not see this one coming. They tried washing, drying, lotion and some super secret eraser type substance from the back room that they got from the police station. She even called her supervisor over to see if she could get my prints. No luck. The women were VERY patient and tried for over an hour. They understood that this was for an adoption and that I will not be approved without an FBI check which is what these fingerprints are for. I asked her if this happens a lot. Note to self - never ask a question that you don't want an answer to. She tells me that this happened with a kid that had a habit of chewing his fingers (never done that) and can often happen with the elderly. Did she say elderly??? If I want to feel old, I can just make an appointment with the fertility doctor thank you very much. She also said that lots of washing dishes and working on the computer can wear out your fingerprints. Well who doesn't do that???? How come mine are so messed up? See there Dad, all those times you made me help Mom out with the dishes - it really did scar me for life.

They warned me that there is a good chance that the prints will be rejected by the FBI and we will need to try again. That of course means a delay which makes me very cranky. I did all sorts of reading on the adoption forums last night to see if anything can help with this. Several posts from people that have older people living in their house and had trouble. Great, again with the elderly reference. One person suggested lotion which doesn't make any sense because I use hand lotion constantly and I don't think Jon has ever touched the stuff. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know - I'll try anything at this point.