Black and Blue Ribbons
— Karen Del Vecchio

Some people like summer. Love it even. I’m not one of them. In fact, if I listed the four seasons for their weather attributes, summer would come in a very distant last. I live…

One of the great things about horseback riding is that when done correctly, it requires an enormous amount of body awareness. While many people see a person riding and think the horse is doing…

I realized earlier that I don’t often think of myself as having EDS. It’s not that I don’t recognize or accept that I have it, but that I rarely ever use it to frame…

Wow, did summer sure decide to turn on its furnace overnight here in Virginia. A day ago, it was in the mid-70s and perfect, and today it was 92 F and humid. Let me…

Last week, I was able to see my massage therapist for the first time in over three months due to the pandemic. About 10 years ago, I learned that massage is an integral…

One thing that’s both particularly difficult as well as sometimes wonderful about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is that, for the most part, it’s invisible. Except for my bruising, if you look at me, there’s…

Last week, I got some disappointing news. My horse Cherry somehow managed to fracture a bone in her foot. She was fine one day, and then the next she came in very lame…

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is strange. Like many rare diseases, it’s unique to each person. For example, different types of injuries present variables in how a disease manifests. Since many of my long-term issues relate…

Like many others, I’ve been forced to accept the current situation as our “new normal” for the foreseeable future. On most days, I get up, take care of the hounds and the cats, then…

I’m pretty sure this is the longest I’ve gone without a massage since I learned that they’re critical to my pain management and well-being. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that I’ll be getting one…

As I wrote in a recent column, one upside to all the extra time spent at home is that I’ve gotten to spend more time on activities I really enjoy but usually get…

Here in Virginia, all nonessential businesses have been closed for several weeks. Frustratingly, I’m unable to access my two main therapies — massage and Pilates. Both of these activities are critical to…