WTF is a chimera, you ask? Chimerism is a form of mosaicism, I believe, a condition in which cells within the same person have a different genetic makeup, affecting pretty much anything, including blood cells or skin cells. It is caused by an error in cell division. Apparently your kids get it worse, but I haven't learned anything really helpful. Both involve two or more populations of cells developed after conception. In my research I've learned a few things: the weird lightly shaded birthmark that looks like two wolf teeth on my belly could be a sign of mosaicism (I think this is called cutaneous mosaicism), the sectoral heterochromia in my eyes could be a sign, stunted growth (I was supposed to have grown to 6 feet) and even my inability to do math could be a sign. Chimerism, however, presents the possibility of having absorbed a twin, only one making it out. Spooky.
On the upside, sectoral heterochromia was believed to be a sign of royalty that even Alexander the Great and other European royals had, possibly even the doomed Russian royals. It is said that both parents need to present, and I'm not sure if my husband has it. My eyes are blue with a spot of brown, his are...hazel. Or more precisely, either brown with a spot of yellow/green, or hazel with a spot of brown. I can't be sure as he had an accident to the eye that is more different in color. But if we have a kid and they have heterochromia, I'll know for sure we're European royalty. I've been looking into what eye color our kid might have, and I think it would either be blue (heterochromia, possibly), hazel or green. My bet is on blue.
Why all this weird, uninteresting research, you ask? I was curious why I was losing pigment in my eyes. They've gotten lighter. More rain drop colored, less foggy blue. Could be glaucoma, which the eye doctor checks for frequently because I've shown signs to worry about, or it could be due to aging, or toxins and not getting enough beta carotene.
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