Dendritic

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- it’s fun to be awake & in an upright position

- consciousness is a gift

He did a wonderful job, but as he was returning my plant to my custody, he explained "I watered her every other day, I gave her new dirt, moved her into the sunshine, prayed the rosary-"

"What?"

He looked at me, confused. "Isn't she a plant you pray with?"

"No," I said slowly. "She's a prayer plant. That's the... colloquial name of the plant."

Upon seeing his stricken face, I realized something went wrong. Turns out, this entire time, he's been including my plant in on his prayers and leaving her near icons.

I am a larval mechanical engineer and am entering my senior of college year soon. On top of the impending senior design hell, I have to decide soon if I want to go to graduate school (probably just for my masters) or not. It feels like a very big decision and everyone I talk to keeps giving me conflicting advice.

You’re an engineer that seems to have ended up in a fairly stable career, do you have any advice for figuring out what I want to do for the next 2-5 years of my life?

Other people have their own opinions on graduate work, so take me with a grain of salt, but I don't really recommend going straight from a bachelors to a masters. Go into industry for a minute, play around, figure out what kind of work you specifically like doing, then use the masters as a way to specialize in that. Worst case, you don't like any of it and you can use the masters as a lateral move to something adjacent. Maybe mechanical jobs don't really tickle your fancy like you'd hoped, but aerospace or robotics seem fun. Bam, masters gives you an in. Also, jobs will often offer to pay your tuition for your masters, but the cost of the tuition is truly miniscule compared to the time, so don't fuss over that too much. If you have to pay yourself, it's not a huge deal.

Engineering as a job is very different from engineering as a study, which is unfortunate, because it can mean that things you enjoyed learning about aren't actually fun to do. Or vice versa. Learning your own tastes is part of the post-college experience, which is a little nerve wracking, but also, pretty fun. It's sort of like dating yourself. You get to start asking questions like who am I, what do I like, where do I want to go, what makes my life fun. It's a little existential, but it's important and frankly very satisfying to figure out. You might be receiving conflicting advice because people are retroactively describing the fastest path to get to the place that made them happy, and not the process they used to find that place. Focus on the process and the destination will solve itself.

what is the process of evaluation like? what kinds of tests do they do?

I have been informed that I should discuss this with my GP and get a referral to a rheumatologist(?). I have been ignoring this possibility for years but given that I had an actual nurse informally assess me and on the basis of that tell me that I should get it formally assessed, I'm actually thinking of getting the process started with the assumption that it will take a long time.

also, not to be flippant, but what's the point? what will I gain by getting my fun joints assessed? why should I care?

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome—and many other connective tissue disorders— affect Every facet of your health. From dental care to vascular health, to which antibiotics are safe for your tendon health, to straight up needing different types of sutures, anesthesia, and recovery care after surgery.

And that doesn’t even begin to cover comorbidities like POTS, MCAS, fibro, etc and general quality of life.

It’s also important to determine which type of EDS you might have because it can help with preventative care for your future based on the specific subtype. There are some very specific health complications that can occur and knowing if you have EDS can help you take preventative steps, but also hopefully ensure you get the care you need more quickly in the event something does go wrong.

I have hEDS and while my joints are garbage, it’s my immune system that’s more heavily impacted, as well as my internal organs which have tried more than once to become external of their own volition. I also had my Achilles tendon rupture spontaneously after being given an antibiotic (ciprofloxacin), which can affect connective tissue, even in people without Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.

I was on the phone to my dad during the doctor rounds while they were talking about wound care and I was trying to be like, “hey did anyone tell them I just got diagnosed with EDS.”

And suddenly I could tell the plastic surgeon had crossed the room because his voice, which had been much further away, was suddenly right there and he said, “say that again.” And I explained I’d been diagnosed with hEDS a few months before and you could hear the unspoken “son of a bitch!” In his voice, because if he’d known there was a history of EDS in the family, he would have done her surgery differently to accommodate her wound care needs.

So, yeah. Bring up family even if they’re unwilling or unable to get a diagnosis. My mother constantly having premature babies in the third trimester was apparently an indicator of connective tissue issues not being supported that to this very day she still blames on herself for drinking too much caffeine.

what is the process of evaluation like? what kinds of tests do they do?

I have been informed that I should discuss this with my GP and get a referral to a rheumatologist(?). I have been ignoring this possibility for years but given that I had an actual nurse informally assess me and on the basis of that tell me that I should get it formally assessed, I'm actually thinking of getting the process started with the assumption that it will take a long time.

also, not to be flippant, but what's the point? what will I gain by getting my fun joints assessed? why should I care?

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome—and many other connective tissue disorders— affect Every facet of your health. From dental care to vascular health, to which antibiotics are safe for your tendon health, to straight up needing different types of sutures, anesthesia, and recovery care after surgery.

And that doesn’t even begin to cover comorbidities like POTS, MCAS, fibro, etc and general quality of life.

It’s also important to determine which type of EDS you might have because it can help with preventative care for your future based on the specific subtype. There are some very specific health complications that can occur and knowing if you have EDS can help you take preventative steps, but also hopefully ensure you get the care you need more quickly in the event something does go wrong.

I have hEDS and while my joints are garbage, it’s my immune system that’s more heavily impacted, as well as my internal organs which have tried more than once to become external of their own volition. I also had my Achilles tendon rupture spontaneously after being given an antibiotic (ciprofloxacin), which can affect connective tissue, even in people without Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.