Chapter 21 break 4

Pepper's point of view

"OK everyone, it's now time for us to take a little break. We're going to take a couple of hours to decompress before we watch the next movie."

We went upstairs to play Mario Kart. I noticed that Tony wasn't himself. Normally, he'd have been swooping in and kicking butt, and getting to the front of the race as quickly as possible but he was in 10th place and pretending to have fun. I glanced over at him as I lapped him. There was terror written al over his face.

"Tony, are you OK?"
"No… what if one of us gets sick with something like Alzheimer's? We'd be dependent on the other… and then the other would have no life except caring until the inevitable."
"Is that what you're afraid of?"
"Yes… chances are it's going to be me… I mean I don't mean to brag or imply that you're not intelligent but…"
"But?"
"I'm a certified genius. According to the research I have done… highly intelligent people have been found, on average, to show clinical signs of Alzheimer's later than the general population. Once they do, they decline much faster. Thought to reflect their greater mental reserves, this different pattern may call for a different approach to diagnosis."

"We're not going to worry about this now."

"No we're not, we're going to do something about it… using the super soldier serum. I don't mind experimenting on myself. If necessary"
"You can experiment on me." said Constance "Bruce, Jay and I will help you… I'm no great shakes in the lab but I am interested even if I don't have the brains necessary to back up that interest."
"Why?"
"I was born with Weaver Syndrome, and that is something that no expert, no clinician, physician or doctor understands at all"
"No I meant, why do you want me to experiment on you?"
"What I have 40 people on the planet have, there's no cure, no treatment and diagnosis is next to impossible… and there are so many unknowns with it, that it's frightening. That being said, however, because I have learning difficulties I am at a significantly increased risk of developing dementia, it's a lot more common in people with Down's Syndrome, and although I don't have that condition I do have something so rare and so misunderstood that we do not know the odds of whether I'll end up with Dementia or not… I'm the perfect person to get experimented on because of the rarity of Weaver Syndrome… a diagnosis which is a non-diagnosis I can't technically call it a misnomer because it's not… it's just… a useless diagnosis because no one knows what to do with me or where to put me. All things considered I'm basically a walking paradox. I fully intend to leave my body to science - brain, or whatever is between my ears, the lot… I don't want any child in future generations to have to deal with what I have dealt with. If my remains can do some scientific good then fabulous. If we can do it while I'm still around… even better!"

"All right we can experiment later."

"Let's get back to business."
"OK"

We went back to the cinema downstairs in the tower.

AN: All of the things I said about Dementia are actually true, same applies to Weaver Syndrome which I actually do have. Yes there are 40 people on the planet with it, yes it's a non-diagnosis because no one knows what to do with me.

HELL YES that is exactly as frustrating as it sounds and since IT'S MY LIFE I figured I can and therefore should include it through the character Constance. She has slightly more mathematical ability than I do and a better attention span. The lack of information about the condition is PRECISELY why I'm barely educated because I didn't exactly fit the criteria boxes that applied to a special needs child back then, they just applied what was closest even if 'closest' was still miles away…

As far as I am aware I've never actually been tested for ADHD or Dyspraxia but I'm pretty sure I have both... among other things. Like I said earlier there are NO experts on Weaver Syndrome so I essentially have to be an expert on me.

I recognise that there are people in this world who have less of a voice and even rarer conditions than I have... that's why I included this and believe me I thought and prayed long and hard about it before I started to include it.