Perspective: for background, know that I’m a well educated, hyperverbal and hyperlexic white allocishet normative woman from the western US, with all the privilege that entails, despite my poverty. I just want to recognize that at the start of this post about my diagnostic journey. So many others have even fewer resources to work with,
I’ve found myself saying this phrase a lot throughout my life. I first learned it in recovery circles – Adult Children of Alcoholics as a teenager, initially. Followed by Codependents Anonymous later. And more recently I’ve been saying it in regard to the medical world’s inability to see and diagnose a form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome when
Appearances are deceiving. Everyone has undoubtedly experienced some form of misunderstading, bias or disrespect from some form of misjudgement based on our appearance, sick or not. (Racism, sexism, agism). But the appearances of those with any form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome are especially deceiving, as the majority with it show no visible outward signs of illness at all. Every EDSer (aka “zebra”
Every chronic illness and issue has an awareness month, and May happens to be the month for Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes Awareness. So prepare to be beat about the ears and eyes with lots of awareness tweets, pins and Facebook posts by your afflicted friends or family. However, THIS year (I’m updating this in April 2017 after
From the online Genetics Home Reference, variable expression is defined as: “Variation in clinical features (type and severity) of a genetic disorder between individuals with the same gene alteration, even within the same family” [italics mine, JG] Definition from: GeneReviews from the University of Washington and the National Center for Biotechnology Information Take the trait for
Alice in Wonderland doesn’t hold a candle to me – or anyone else with Ehlers-Danlos Syndome of any kind, I’d say. As long, winding and mind-bending as her journey down her rabbit-hole seemed, the journey of an EDS patient has an unending supply of twists and turns that would make even the Cheshire Cat blush.
