Black and Blue Ribbons
— Karen Del Vecchio

First in a series. After I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), one of the many things that became clear was why my previous attempts at physical therapy had failed when I was 16. Well, not just failed — they’d made everything worse. The therapists had understandably tried…

As someone with significant gastrointestinal problems due to having both Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and alpha-gal syndrome, I find that Thanksgiving isn’t as straightforward for me as it is for most people. I can’t simply show up at someone’s house for a meal and dive right in. At…

“One day, when you’re my age, you’ll understand pain.” This might be one of the most frustrating and flippant comments I hear as someone in my mid-30s. Many who are older automatically assume that people my age don’t deal with any physical issues. Because my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is…

In a recent column, I described how my massage therapist and I realized that the cause of my back and foot pain was actually my hip. Thankfully, since that session, the pain has diminished. I had another session to work on it more, and I’m hopeful we’re moving in…

I’ve learned to pay attention so I can tell the symptoms of my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) from other health issues. For about a week, I’d been feeling extra tired and sore, but that’s not necessarily unusual. Getting out of bed in the morning was particularly difficult, and I…

I’ve been dealing with a lot of muscle pain along the bottom of my ribs for the past couple of months. I don’t recall when or how it started, but once it was there, it seems like it just didn’t want to leave. Even regular bodywork, usually my ticket to…

Every time I think I’ve gotten a handle on the patterns of my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), I’m pretty sure the universe laughs at me. Oh, you think you have it figured out? What about this? That’s pretty much what happened last week when I found myself surprised following a…

One thing I know for sure is that I have a much higher pain tolerance than most people. I guess that’s probably true for most people who manage chronic pain. They either learn to deal with it as best they can or they can’t function. What I didn’t consider…

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. A couple of weeks ago, for instance, I went out of town for a funeral and then flew directly from there to a conference, where I spent a few days before returning home. The result from that travel? Exhaustion, a cold, and…

I feel like my body’s done a flip-flop. Usually my right side causes me the most problems. I have a badly damaged shoulder, hip, finger, hand, and ankle, all on my right side. My left side is normally the “good” one, with only occasional flare-ups. In the…

I’ve said many times that chronic fatigue is one of the toughest parts of living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). It’s so tough to wake up just as exhausted as I was when I went to sleep. I’ve noticed recently, though, that my fatigue is a little bit…

“Hey, how did you get that bruise on your face?” I’ve probably gotten that question at least a dozen times in the past few days, and I’m sure many more wanted to ask me but didn’t. It’s not a big bruise — maybe the size of a dime — on…