Black and Blue Ribbons
— Karen Del Vecchio

Over the years, the position in which I’m most comfortable sleeping at night has changed. For most of my life, I could only sleep on my stomach. After I was diagnosed and my pain…

I’m so lucky to be able to have massage therapy every other week. While I wasn’t diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) until I was 22 and didn’t start regular massages until several…

I really need to stop doing stupid things and hurting myself. Sheesh. Last September, I badly broke my finger and had to have surgery.

After two weeks of virtual learning to avoid the post-holiday spike in COVID-19 cases, students in the school where I work returned to in-person learning last week. I was nervous about it at first,…

I don’t think I’m alone in hoping that 2021 would be a better year than last, but it’s certainly off to an interesting start. I work as a college counselor and history teacher at…

I’m certain I don’t have to tell anyone reading this column that having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) means overcoming a lot of hurdles and other negative things. These include chronic pain, fatigue, ease of…

As is common for someone with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), I’ve done plenty of physical therapy (PT). After my diagnosis at 22, I was referred to PT to work on many long-standing problems that…

I love the holidays, especially Christmas. This year is certainly different in just about every way, except for one: If anything, I think we all need more holiday cheer to shine some light during…

Last week, I had another follow-up appointment for my finger. In late September, I had surgery to repair a badly broken right ring finger from a freak accident. It was a dislocated spiral…

Being back to work at school after the holiday is both exciting and a little depressing. I mostly did farm work while I was off. One of the most refreshing things about doing farm…

This year has hardly been traditional. Among the most obvious evidence of that has been COVID-19’s effect on schools. I’m a college counselor who helps high school juniors and seniors figure out their next…

The past few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving, even though it’s certainly going to be very different this year. With COVID-19 spiking, people struggling, and necessary social…