On the forefront of the human foot are five long objects allowing the body to help maintain contact with the ground. These five objects are specified as toes, but what happens when two or more of these toes are connected in a web-like form? Ever since I was born I have had syndactyly. Syndactyly is the union of two or more toes at the forefront of the foot. It is commonly caused because of the absence of apoptosis, which is the programmed death cell. My parents constantly teased me as a child about how they were going to take a pair of scissors and cut the extra skin between my toes. Having syndactyly meant I was always unable to wear the socks with the toe separators and the shoes known as barefoot five fingers. This also meant I had a cool mutation and my dad would always jokingly say I could be a part of the X-Men. Syndactyly is estimated 1 in every 2,500-3,000 children born each year. This is a very common condition meaning parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and future children are likely to poses this. It is more widely known as webbed toes rather than the medical term syndactyly. Throughout my childhood many people asked my parents why they didn’t fix my feet before leaving the hospital. My parent’s response was usually along the lines of that they were training me to be an Olympic swimmer with duck feet. Their plan didn’t work out considering I am now in college taking a non-major biology class. Although my parents were very humorous about the situation, when I asked them as a child why I had this condition usually the answer ended up being along the lines of that I have always been a unique child and my toes are an example of just how unique I am. Now that I am fully grown I know that they were uneducated and just lying to try to make a self-conscious no flip-flop wearing child feel better because her toes were weird. Today, I often forget I have webbed toes because they are just normal toes to me, but when it’s ice breaker season and everyone is asked what cool trait they have all I have to do is pull off my socks. Everyone is born into this world different, but when diving into the history of webbing and the gender surrounded outlook on syndactyly it is important to look how my biological makeup has affected and compared to my life.
Upon entering this world parents usually ask for two things before a baby comes. One of these things is that the baby is healthy and the second is the baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes. My parents in particular asked for this before I arrived although it wasn’t exactly what they had in mind. Being their first child they were scared about my abilities known since they did not receive any testing to see if I was going to be born with any syndrome. It is found in webbing connected abnormalities found in different syndromes such as Down syndrome, Apert’s syndrome, Carpenters syndrome, Timothy syndrome, and more unlisted syndromes which are linked with webbing. Down syndrome is a hereditary disorder caused when certain cell divisions result in an extra genetic chromosome. Apert’s syndrome is known for the dysmorphic face and webbing of hands and feet. A single gene from the non-sex chromosomes from a parent is the cause of this syndrome. Carpenter’s syndrome is found mostly in the early stages of fusion between the skull, toe, and finger bones. Timothy syndrome is not found at birth which leads ultimately to cardiac arrhythmia, and congenital disorders. Seemingly both my parents never went to college much less they graduated high school not really knowing anything about this condition. Around my mother’s sixth to seventh week of pregnancy is when my toes and fingers began to separate. This did not occur all the way through because the programmed death cell was absent. Webbing should disappear because a programed death cell known as apoptosis occurs allowing the breaking down of tissue between the toes. Apoptosis was absent meaning that I would forever live my life with two toes permanently joined together. After I was born the doctor did testing just to make sure I didn’t have any other conditions, I was not born with any of the infamous syndromes listed above. I along with several others isn’t impacted nearly as much as some individuals are affected by syndactyly. My dad gave me the nickname goose when I left the hospital not because my toes were joined together but because in the gift shop there was a book called Gracie Goose. This nickname followed me around throughout my entire life. Many kids chose to call me this because my toes were joined together and my nose bone had deteriorated causing my nose to look like a beak. Little did these kids know but I had more advantages than they did because my big toe along with the one next to it were around the same length it allowed me to be able to have better balance. The reasoning behind better balance is all about toes and when having webbing it is easier to stay balanced. This was a factor I was unaware of until I tried being a flyer for the first time in a cheerleading stunt. Most of the girls on the team couldn’t hold a position as long as I could. My coach would make each of us bring a can of soup to practice standing on with one foot. Every time I would end up being the last one on the soup can, perhaps it is just because I have incredible balance or it is because my toes are able to keep me at a stable place longer than those with regular toes. Although there hasn’t been any significantly evidence showing exactly why this apoptosis does not occur it has been found in this condition it is likely because a group of relatives poses the same trait. For me, none of my relatives have this trait that I know of. Most likely one or more of my dead relatives did have webbing. I personally believe once I outgrew the opinions of those who surrounded me I became less knowledgeable of criticizes of my appearance. I now am not as self-conscious as I once was about my toes and my nose no longer looks like a beak because I had to have emergency surgery. In the first few weeks after a child is born the parents can choose for the child to be put under so the doctor can separate the skin binding the toes together. I find it interesting to know that my parents although they had the opportunity to fix my toes they decided not to. I am proud of my biological makeup now, even though it is a common condition I am 1 in every 2,500 human beings who has syndactyly. Syndactyly has affected my life in the aspect of I have learned a greater deal about my biological makeup from it and the different instances where it helped me grow. I have been able to research thoroughly the reasoning behind why nineteen years ago I was born into this world a little differently than most and it has allowed me to look at it through a different look than those who don’t. When comparing my history to the factual evidence of webbing I can see the connections that are made between biological reasoning and my capabilities.
After looking at it from one context of my personal history of syndactyly, it also needs to be addressed from why a certain gender is more effected than the other. When looking at the research of a well-established genetic based researcher, it was found that boys are more likely born with syndactyly than females. It was also found that Caucasian children have a higher chance of obtaining this condition than children of other ethnic backgrounds according to Medical News Today. During my four years of high school the yearbook committee usually has a page of weird capabilities the students have. One year they decided they were going to have a section of this page dedicated to students who had webbed toes. At this point in my life I just thought nothing about it but when the survey ended I was the only girl at my school along with five other boys who possessed syndactyly. After researching this and realizing a main reason I was the only girl it is interesting to see how our biological makeup is found in patterns. These patterns meaning those boys were more likely to obtain this condition rather than I was. When I continued my researched I was able to find exactly why boys were more commonly known for having syndactyly than females. The reasoning behind this is because boys are more common to poses the different syndromes which are entailed from having webbing. There are also very numerous theories explaining why boys are more likely to possess webbing rather than girls but is not backed up with a scientific explanation. When I look to it more in depth I believe that it is better boys are more likely to possess webbing of the toes than girls. When I look at it from my point of view I see it as this way guys don’t typically care all that much of what their toes look like much less what another human being thinks of them. Girls on the other hand wear flip-flops, heels, and often get pedicures. Also, when getting a pedicure, it is hard for the nail tech to properly put the toe separators on in order for the tech to paint the toes. I am not saying that boys are not as impacted by it as girls, but as a female I believe women are more self-conscious about the condition. Over the course of my life when it is somehow sneaked into a conversation a female often uses the words “gross, you are weird, or nasty.” While when it was brought up in a conversation with boys it often went along the lines of “that’s so cool or let me see them.” Females are more likely to judge than boys. Although boys are more likely to have syndactyly because they are more likely to have web-like syndromes when looking at it from an ethnicity point of view there is no research concerning why exactly Caucasians are more likely to have it than other ethnicities. Caucasian males have a higher chance but this does not mean they are more affected by syndactyly than the other gender.
Syndactyly, although common is still widely unknown why exactly the programmed death cell never occurs. This leaves babies with webbing of the feet or hands. I was one of these babies. My two toes beside my big toe have been webbed since my mother’s eighth week of pregnancy. When looking further into syndactyly I was able to find out how my biological makeup compared to the different occurrences in my life’s history. One being my capability to keep a steadier balance than all the other girls on the cheer squad. While looking through my history I was able to learn more about syndactyly and how it is possible that many of my family members before me were likely to have webbing. I was also infatuated with the fact that my children could also have duck-like feet because it is genetically common. When taking gender into account I found out that boys are more likely to have webbing rather than girls. In my life, I was able to make a connection because of my yearbook experience where I was the only girl along with five other boys. I also feel this is a good thing because of the judgement that comes along with being a girl with weird looking feet. Although my parents didn’t receive the Olympic swimmer they were hoping, there have been more advantages in my opinion rather than disadvantages of having syndactyly.