My parents were strict about bad language. I got away with quoting something to my mother, which included a "damn," when I was about 12. I think that was about as far as I went in front of them until the relationship really fell apart.

One thing about using strong language sparingly. When you do use it, people take notice.

But if it's a screenplay you can just make something up. She suffers from chronic handuavia.

And Kristin, the closest I can think of might be a kidney problem involving dialysis. But that's more like half a day a couple of times a week.

My Mother never heard the word "fuck" until she went to college. She i had seen it in grafitti and was aware of its existance.

That reminds me that I got in trouble in 2nd grade for writing FUCK YOU up on the board when Miss Foster was out of the classroom. I wasn't angry or anything I just knew that it would entertain the other kids. Thus began my long career in showbiz (after a brief stay in Miss Foster's timeout cubbyhole).

Hm. It doesn't have to be something that isn't dangerous in the long run. She could be in denial about the seriousness of the problem, I suppose. Thanks for the initial thoughts, Laga and Fred.

we almost got kicked out of Disney World when my sister thought it would be oh so funny to write FUCK YOU in the sand so people riding the monorail could see it.

MaidenGurl, what's STBX mean?

ETA--Never mind, figured it out.

Cystic fibrosis?

See, the only thing I can come up with is more like Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis--you can end up in the hospital on a semi-regular basis with those, depending on how your condition is. (I think there may even be a Buffista with one of those) But you may not want to make people think of your character's bowels.

I would think that CF wouldn't be good because it would require a number of other life changes that might not work for the character. I got the impression that the disease shouldn't have other issue besides the brief hospital stays.