Della D. Weiss

◆ Life’s Random Inventory

Human Hardware is my deep dive into the body — specifically, the glitchy, unpredictable, warranty‑expired version I’ve been operating with for years. This series is where I talk about the stuff people don’t see: the traumatic brain injury, the brain surgery, the Chiari malformation, the sacral nerve stimulator, the IBS, the chronic constipation, the migraines, the mental health battles, and the long, messy history I’ve had with food and my body.

I call it “hardware” because that’s what it feels like — a system full of wires, circuits, and error messages that I’m constantly troubleshooting. Some days everything boots up fine. Other days my body behaves like it’s running on dial‑up. And because most of these issues are invisible, people assume I’m functioning at 100% when really I’m just running on stubbornness and caffeine.

I’m not here to glamorize chronic illness or turn it into a motivational poster. I’m here to tell the truth the way it shows up: inconvenient, exhausting, sometimes darkly funny, and always shaping the way I move through the world. This series is for anyone whose body has ever betrayed them, confused them, or forced them to learn resilience they never asked for.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re living in a machine that needs more updates than you can keep up with, welcome to Human Hardware. You’re not alone in this strange, glitchy system.

Della D.

The Reality of Chiari Malformation

Chiari malformation is basically when part of your brain decides it’s tired of the whole “staying inside the skull” expectation and starts slipping downward into the spinal canal. Doctors describe it as a structural abnormality; I would describe it as your cerebellum trying to Irish‑exit your cranium.