Saturday, December 16, 2006

5 Things

I've been tagged by Devorah and Cat for the 5 Things You Don't Know About Me meme but you still only get 5.

1. In genetic circles, I'm known as a Fresh Mutant. I even, at one time, had a tshirt that said that. I wasn't aware of this until I was past 30, but it made me cry as it explained a lot and also made me know that for a fresh mutant...I was just right.

2. I've spent time in prison....but only as a visitor. It wasn't fun and I don't recommend it as a trip of choice. But ya learn a lot.

3. If I had a physical wish, it would be that I either could snow ski or tap dance. Being somewhat (?) klutzy, that will probably remain a wish. *G*

4. If you want to see me run, just say "We need to talk" because in my experience that means you are in a shitload of trouble.

5. I'm afraid of heights that don't have a stable thing like a railing, and rats. So, I'm thinking if I was on a roof with a rat I would really be in bad trouble.

Dang near everyone I know has already been tagged, but if you are reading this and want to play be sure and let me know so I can go read yours!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is a Fresh Mutant?

Susan said...

Elabeth, in genetic language a fresh mutant is someone who has a genetic condition but whose parents do not. And most thankfully, it wasn't passed down to my daughter or grandsons. What I have is called Crouzon's Syndrome. Basically what happened was that all those places in your head that close after you're born (i.e. that soft spot on top and some others that arent' so obvious) closed and fused while I was still in utero. Thus causing my face to be basically flat with protruding eyes, I have cheekbones but they aren't prominent, the back of my head is pretty flat too which makes keeping a hat on most difficult. Well that's not true, it will stay on but it will also fall down and cover my face LOL. It also causes vision problems, mouth problems and most annoying...breathing problems. So you have this kid that looks really weird and is a mouth breather to boot. Not a happy combo. I knew I looked 'wrong' and if I forgot, some kid would remind me. But thankfully my brain found enough room to grow and my intelligence wasn't damaged. (sometimes that's debatable! *G*)

I was working at Children's Hospital and having vision problems and frequent and bad headaches and the optometrist wanted me to have a thyroid profile since the bulging eyes can be a symptom of a thyroid disease. I'd had a bazillion of them done over the years but she insisted. So, I thought perhaps I could con one of the residents into signing for it so I wouldn't have to pay. The doc said "It's just part of your syndrome".

I just stared at her and said HUH?

She was amazed I didn't know, but all the genetics residents got excited and I ended up having all kinds of tests done for free. They were afraid (or hopeful) that my brain being squashed was causing the headaches. And basically, I needed glasses LOL. I missed out on a chance to have some surgery done to open up my sinuses and straighten my nose due to my mom breaking her hip. LOL and the surgeon said he'd try to figure out how to make my cheekbones appear without adding to the charge. Oh well.

It was, however, a good thing to know and to know that I really was just right for the syndrome and it could have been much more severe. Now days, kids have surgery to correct much of this, but when I was born they just thought I was some sort of bad mistake. And, in fact, told my folks I would probably die soon and that would be a good thing!

Happily, I proved them wrong. And also...whether for good or bad...my folks were so glad that I survived that I was much spoiled *G*

Ha...and you didn't know you were going to get a paper done on the subject, did you? LOL

~France said...

I will attest to the fact the Susan is *JUST RIGHT* and a sweetheart to boot!!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'll bet the genetic guys DID have fun with you. :) I think Fresh Mutant is always better than Stale Mutant. You wouldn't want to get all mushy and icky, after all. :D

I'm glad I read this before sending you that Balloon Ride with Rodents gift certificat. Whew! Crisis averted...

Susan said...

Damn Laura, I almost trashed my kb with coffee while reading your comment. Maybe I could sign up for some sort of therapy. I'd really hate to miss out on a chance like that!
Oh, and thanks for fixing your space so I can post there. You can be my html hero .. or something. *G*