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.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 level became more manageable, I slept primarily on my back. Recently, for whatever reason, I seem…
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 years after that, I’ve since learned that they are critical to my well-being and pain…
I really need to stop doing stupid things and hurting myself. Sheesh. Last September, I badly broke my finger and had to have surgery. I now sport a plate and six screws in my right ring finger. Then, just a…
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, as I’d gotten used to my little bubble at home and on the farm over the…
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 a high school, and my students are currently taking classes online. Although we managed to have…
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 injury, gastrointestinal issues, anxiety and other mental health concerns — and those are just the start…
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 had never been resolved because we weren’t viewing things in the context of EDS. These issues…
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 this incredibly difficult time. This holiday, like Thanksgiving, will look nothing like normal. My…
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 fracture, and when the surgeon actually got in there during surgery, he found more bone fragments…
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 work is that life feels normal for a few minutes when I’m outdoors doing chores and…
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