An avid equestrian and educator, Karen has been a columnist at BioNews — the publisher of this site — since 2019. She was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in 2009 after years of searching for a diagnosis that explained her symptoms. Karen enjoys working with her students, riding and caring for her two horses (Cherry and Spotty), and connecting with others in the rare disease community through her writing.Sometimes I feel like my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is just plain weird. I can’t always figure out what’s going on or why, which makes it harder to manage. Recently, I’ve been waking up with a stiff neck and back, and sometimes my muscles feel shaky, as if I haven’t…
I’ve had a busy couple of weeks, but I received some good news: After advocating for myself, I was approved to start physical therapy (PT) for my broken rib and sprained diaphragm! Last week, I had an evaluation with the same physical therapist I’ve been seeing since I…
Recovery is such an up-and-down experience. I want to move forward, make progress, and get on with life, but that’s not how recovery works, especially for those of us with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). While my overall trajectory is upward, I’m having a tough time with the setbacks and not-so-great…
Last week, my discomfort and frustration with my recent rib and diaphragm injury reached a tipping point. More than anything, I was frustrated by my reactive diaphragm, which made me often feel nauseous. Physical pain I can deal with — those of us with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) are used…
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks as I recover from broken ribs and an injured diaphragm. I’m trying to be patient with the healing process, but that’s not something I’m good at! I’d hoped to begin physical therapy (PT) for my diaphragm and sore core muscles, but because broken…
Physical compensation can be such an odd duck to tackle. Right now, I’m struggling not only with broken ribs and an injured diaphragm, but also with the way my body is trying to compensate. I have a lot of back and hip pain, and I noticed recently that…
I stood there staring at a container on the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet, debating if I should reach up for it or not. After falling off my horse about a month ago and winding up with a broken and dislocated rib, I’ve been forced to rest…
Sometimes life teaches us lessons we don’t want to learn. This has been the case for me recently as I deal with a broken and dislocated rib and an injured diaphragm. I’m terrible about pushing myself too hard, usually just plowing forward. I don’t do “slow” well, and…
Did you know you can sprain your diaphragm? I certainly didn’t. Although it’s rare, you can injure it like any other muscle. The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me after a recent fall off a horse. At first, I thought I’d pulled a muscle in my…
As I leaned over to wash my hands in the restroom, I heard an audible pop. Half a second later, I felt a crunching in my back that I quickly realized was bone scraping against bone. In the next moment, I understood that something in my ribs had moved drastically,…
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