“Grey’s Anatomy” Ehlers-Danlos Episode

Watch this video about the EDS patient who inspired the Ehlers-Danlos portrayal in the Oct. 13 episode of the TV show “Grey’s Anatomy”.


Olivia Herzoff, 19, has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder that gives her constant pain and a range of related medical issues. An Oct. 13 episode of the popular medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” featured a character with EDS modeled after Herzoff. 

Her bedroom, where Olivia Herzoff spends most of her time, is a unique mix of the teenager and medical equipment.

On her bed — a hospital-style cot with a safety bar on one side — rests an embroidered pillow with a horse on it, and a stuffed animal wearing a feeding tube. Next to a framed senior portrait on her bedside table is a transparent pill box with the week’s medications. Posters with inspirational phrases like “You were born to sparkle” and “Wonderful” hang above a plastic cart filled with medical supplies.

Sitting in the middle of it all is Herzoff, a 19-year-old college student with dreams of studying psychology despite a debilitating tissue condition known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

“The hardest part of it all is how misunderstood it is, and how I look fine on the outside, but my body is fighting itself on the inside,” she said. “I’m in pain all the time.”

But her condition isn’t quite as misunderstood anymore, thanks to an Oct. 13 episode of the popular medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” that featured a character with EDS modeled after Herzoff.

Click here for a youtube video clip of the episode.

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