Black and Blue Ribbons
— Karen Del Vecchio

As soon as I felt my shoulder click, I knew I was in trouble. Overall, my body had been doing relatively well recently, without any pain flares. But that subtle feeling in my shoulder let me know the streak…

As a teacher, I’m incredibly lucky to have extra time off work around Thanksgiving. It gives me a few days to recharge from the constant chronic fatigue of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) before the holiday season kicks into high…

Wow, I continue to be overwhelmed by everyone’s responses to my previous two columns about food sensitivities! I had no idea that what I knew was an issue for those of us with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) was…

As I wrote in my last column, I’ve learned that I can’t eat any mammalian products, as they make me quite sick. I’ve never been a big meat eater, so giving up steak and whatnot really wasn’t hard…

Wow! I was completely surprised by the overwhelming response to my recent column about my dairy intolerance. While I’ve known for a while that gastrointestinal (GI) upset is an issue for many of us with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome…

If I had to pick a place on my body that would cause me issues with my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), it’d basically be anywhere on my right side. I’ve injured my right shoulder, ankle, knee, hip, and…

After some thinking, I realized that there may have been a reason behind the seemingly random inflammation and pain flare I wrote about last week. Many people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) struggle with stomach and gastrointestinal…

Like many people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), I have numerous old injuries, including some I didn’t know about until after I was diagnosed. One of these involves scar tissue that’s developed along my spine. Recently, I’ve…

A teenager I know was recently diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), and another is suspected of having it. After spending years not knowing anyone else with the condition, this was very surprising to me! Both the teenagers and…

As I recently scrolled through the news, a CNN article caught my eye. The headline was, “What you should know about sleep loss and inflammation, according to new study.” I was immediately intrigued, as just last week…

The last couple weeks have been exhausting. I’m a teacher, and the beginning of school is always an adjustment as students get settled into their classes and I learn their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. In addition to that, I’ve…

Historically, my pain-related issues and injuries have been more heavily located on my right side. My right ankle, hip, shoulder, and hand all have some sort of significant issue related to or made worse by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS).