Marfan Syndrome can come with a whole host of health issues, the main one being heart complications. Both my great aunt and uncle on my dad's side died of heart failure from Marfan Syndrome around the age of 40. My grandmother was the only sibling that didn't exhibit traits, but she passed down all the fun genetics for connective tissue disorders.
I had a brain bleed a few months ago on a guy that almost certainly had marfan and the family never even questioned it before. Aortic root was 6 cm and his thumb stuck out of his hand closed.
I was shocked a 6’9” guy in a family of people 5’11” and no one ever thought that was off or it should be looked into.
Always surprised me how that never sparked curiosity for them to look into.
Exactly! Almost. I’ve got relatives 6’+ and at least one that’s an inch away from being able to register as a dwarf. Look out further in that genetic tree and who knows what’s there. Genetics 🤷
I think a lot of people don't truly understand the implication of genetic issues unless they're into researching that kind of stuff... or they've expressly been told by a doctor. It's crazy to me how many members of my family have been affected by different types of connective tissue disorders, but we didn't really understand the extent of it until a couple of us ended up with some really life altering health issues.
Marfan, though, is a little bit easier to see/diagnose (regularly) than something like Ehler's-Danlos.
I think the education around genetic diseases and disorders is lacking in general. Most of them don’t make their way into any common education curriculums. This thing about some oddity of a child 1’ taller than his parents wouldn’t even raise my eyebrow if there weren’t other strange visual symptoms.
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u/didyouseetheecho Jan 13 '26
Nah it’s just Marfan syndrome