A couple of things:
1. I just got a visitor who had done a search for “weird body deformities.” This made me laugh pretty hard. Then I searched “body deformities” and I was the fourth hit on the list! (I have no idea if that link will actually work.)
What this means? I have a corner on the market of body deformity blog posts!! This could bring me, like, 4 entire visitors a month who are all going to leave after 3 seconds because they are either junior high students looking for something to gawk at (wait, maybe they’ll find what they’re looking for? #Disturbingthoughts) or they are people writing actual papers and looking for actual legit. information.
What a triumph!
2. So, in doing research for a writing project, I stumbled across something actually pretty disturbing. Ever heard of Bendectin? You probably haven’t. That’s because it was taken off the market about three decades ago because it is a morning sickness medication that ended up causing birth defects in babies.
Can you guess where I’m going here?
I was reading my Dad’s journal a couple of nights ago and… yep. My poor sweet mom was so sick with me in the formative weeks of pregnancy that her doctor gave her an ultimatum. Take Bendectin, or be hospitalized. My parents chose Bendectin (which I think was the right choice.)
One of the possible cited birth defects from Bendectin? Congential eye deformities!!!
Can you believe that??? Never, ever in my life have I thought I could be a part of something like that.
So, naturally my first thought was: lawsuit!!! Lamentably, there hasn’t been a successful case in like two decades and there’s actually a whole debaccle about whether or not the drug actually causes birth defects. Not surprising.
And I’m only kidding about the lawsuit anyway. Even if I could become litigious, I wouldn’t.
But isn’t that weird? I think it’s so crazy to finally have a viable explanation for my eyeball deformation.
This would be so awesome if my life goal was to start a strange, spooky website dedicated to something only marginally fact-based and totally sensational.
Kind of like this one.
Did you watch that intro? Isn’t this just creepy?
All right, that’s it for today. This post has been brought to you by paternity leave. It’s been awesome to be able to be home with the girls.
Missed my other body deformity posts? That’s almost more tragic than having one. (How was that for compelling?) Remedy this post haste, by clicking here, here or here.
Also, one more deformity post to go! (I will not stop until I’m #1 on google. I’m driven like that, ya’ll.) The next and perhaps final body deformity post will be about sinusitis. You’ll love it. I know I do.
Wow, way to go, wonky-eye twin!!!! Don't stop til you're number ONE!!!!!!! 😀 hahahahaa
Oh, I won't! Thanks for your support. It means a lot! haha
Ha ha. I get people to my site by searching for "short people"…I REALLY hope they aren't looking for midget porn when they stumble across my site 😛
Christine–Ha! Classic. Yeah, they would probably be a little bit disappointed if that were the case…
Oh come now, I saw Christine's illustration and your "deformity" is hardly a deformity! In fact, it gained you a new follower so it should have a more positive connotation, don't you think?? 😉
Bi–Wow, I'm beginning to love that ol' eye of my more and more. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I actually have heard of that medication, thanks to my Biology class from H***. Good thing I took that class so I can relate to this blog post…I am really sorry to hear about the possible relation between the medication and your eye.
Fourth hit on the list? Congrats!
At least you don't urge people to donate $10 to your site if they find ANY useful info. (Yes, I did read all the way to the bottom of the link to the Arachnoid Cyst site, scary!)
Where's the part V you promised????
Umm, OK…so funny because I just wrote a post on this and how I laughed SO hard by the things people typed into a search engine and how they reached my blog. Like "face in a hole" or something about someone's wife's friends giving them an enema. I kid you not.
SUE, baby, SUE!! 🙂
Piper in Utah
PS – and that nutball website you linked to?? The "Arachnoid Cysts" one? All sorts of crazy.
Still only number 4 if you search body deformities. But if you search "body deformities" with the quotes YOU'RE NUMBER ONE!!!
I found your blog via *that* post and have been looking through the archives. That brings me here. Hilarious series, by the way. As far as the drug goes, though, I hope it didn't cause the "deformities." According to my medical providers, it was not truly the cause of any birth defects, just an easy out for lawyers to sue when there were problems. Consequently, the medicine is still available in Canada, and many midwives here in the US tell ladies to go ahead with a Vitamin B6 and Unisom regimen to combat morning sickness. I took it daily with both my pregnancies, and, so far so good. I managed to stay out of the hospital from the morning sickness and the children seem normal. Although, I do have the three-year-old yelling in my ear at the moment. Can I claim that such manners are a birth defect? 😉
No. THREE!!! MOVING UP!!!
Well you are now number two on the list, and after clicking on number one (Asia's top 10 unique deformities) I'd be happy you're not growing bark on your skin. ^_^ Just think, you could be called the TREE MAN. lol.
You're number one! You're number one!
You are number one! Oh, and by the way, I just absolutely love your writing style. It's so engaging and it's really fun to read your blog.
still #1!
I have only recently started reading your blog (side note, most people share your coming out post as the one that they read or heard about first, but not I; it was your Morning Run post that my mom showed me to get me hooked on Weed) but as soon as I read this post I had to search body deformities just to see. You're still at number 1! (Do you like my giant parenthetical paragraph?) (There seems to be a lot of them on your blog) (They are fun and addicting) (My autocorrect kept telling me I meant attractive not addicting) (I should stop now….)
I just checked again, and you're sadly at #2, but #1's summary had something about an extra pair of nipples and an undeveloped head, so you're going to need something bigger than an eye that looks normal from a distance. Sorry! Also, reading your blog has been awesome:)
Ha ha ha. And yes. Awesome.
I took Bendectin with my first pregnancy. Yes, I am THAT old. It really helped. That baby ended up having ADD. But his eyes are great!
I took Bendectin with my first pregnancy also. My son was born with strabismus/nystagmis a severe crossed eyes problem (two eye surgeries). He also had a hernia in his scrotum and has had other problems since. I have always felt that Bendectin was the cause. How can they say there is no connection. As far as I know, they have never contacted anyone who used Bendectin to find out what problems the child had.
I didn't read through all the comments, but I just clicked you link to the google body deformity's and you are now number 3. You probable already knew this.
Quite a strange feeling realizing you finally have a sense of how, what and why you are not quite the same hey? Two uvulas double joints ear wiggle pigeon flat chest and no enamel are a few of my 'attributes' that also, my daughter now has been affected with as well:-( Anyway at least we know I guess?!
Bendectin has been put back on the market. There is no proof it ever caused a birth defect. They tested it quite a bit. Hundreds of tests. They never stopped selling it in Canada. It was withdrawn for other reasons, not safety.