Bending Allergies (she/her)

PhD student navigating physical disability #hEDS #DegenerativeDiscDisease and illness #MCAS #GI + (diagnosed/undiagnosed) in academia during a global pandemic

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

Something that non-disabled people don't understand: When I work hard, I don't get to "treat myself". I don't get to play or relax. I get to recover. #DisabledInSTEM #Disabled #AcademicAbleism #NEISVoid

[Haley Branch @HaleyABranch]

Listen to @daniel_anstett @rangelimits and my recent paper. Read aloud by yours truly, as part of my commitment to #MakeScienceAccessible. You can listen while you wash your dishes, close your eyes, anywhere! #DisabledInSTEM
https://t.co/6xjkaafiLz

[Haley Branch @HaleyABranch]

Hey #MedTwitter why wasn't it common practice to wear masks when entering a hospital prior to this past year?

#Medicine #MDChat #HealthCare #QualityChat #CdnHealth #PtSafety

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

Aka my body is being a jerk 😅😂🤣 #ChronicHumor #DisabilityHumor #NEISVoid #DisabilityTwitter

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

I have questions about myoclonus, anyone willing to share? What does it feel like? I get these all encompassing body shudders that seem to start from the base of my head. They result in the involuntary movement of my limbs and torso.

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

Follow up: can thinking more about myoclonus cause these jerks to happen more frequently? #NEISVoid I'm concerned because I've had 6 fairly big ones today already as I am anticipating a call from my doctor

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@the_tweedy Dwarf ☺

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@the_tweedy Yup I'm 5 :)

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@AbleismAcademia Exactly! I had actually been hoping to pay for part of my wheelchair with this award. What a luxury 😑

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

Add in being disabled and it's near impossible...

[Dr Joy Parkinson @DrJoyParkinson]

The busy lives of academics have hidden costs — and universities must take better care of their faculty members #AcademicMentalHealth @OpenAcademics https://t.co/ybDh6jZ5yV

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@JoannaNoBanana Same. Sweat and me do not go well together. Makes me super itchy anf sweat prone areas are likely to get eczema :(

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@DisabledStem 100% same

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@DisabledStem I know this so well. Painsomnia is brutal. All last night my knees were just so painful. I'm sorry!

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@exceedhergrasp1 Oh I see that you have EDS too? Did you do your undergrad at Cornell in the plant sci program? I looked at doing my PhD there once upon a time. Considering postdoc over there.

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

Didn't get an award, which is ok, but it took so much energy to apply. Disabled scholars get significantly less grants, and I bet it is largely due to the fact that we are physically unable to apply to as many as our nondisabled colleagues #AcademicChatter

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@exceedhergrasp1 Wild! How does one do such interdisciplinary work? That's awesome. I will definitely reach out to her. I have EDS and CFS is just one symptom of that, hard to tease it apart. Do you know if she has a close relation to ME/CFS or is disabled as well?

[Bending Allergies (she/her) @BendyBotanist]

@Ologies My body is older than my years. To the observer I would look perfectly healthy and young. But in reality my arms have decided to feel like they are on fire and my lower spine stabs me in the back all the time. And all I want is just to finish this PhD...