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An illustration of several surgeons with masks and hats.

Surgery Prep: Meeting Your EDS Hospital Stay Needs

How to be prepared & stay safe when having a hospital stay with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) This article will give an overview of ways you can prepare for a hospital stay when you have EDS, as well as tips on surgical prep and your own patient advocacy. People with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) often need surgery […]

A black woman with long black hair. She is looking to the side and has beautiful brown eyes and silver earrings.

Advocate Nthabeleng Ramoeli on her EDS journey, EDS care in Lesotho, and why she established an NGO to help all rare disease patients

For our January newsletter, journalist Karina Sturm spoke with rare disease advocate Nthabeleng Ramoeli. Ramoeli was born in Lesotho, a country encircled by South Africa, and lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and many other comorbid conditions. The young woman relentlessly fights for improved access to health care for rare disease patients in her home country and […]

A woman with chin-long light brown hair stands in front of a fountain. She wears a blue shirt and a black blazer and smiles.

Author Jessica MacLean on how writing saved her and what she learned from her ancestors

For January’s Chronic Pain Partners post (our monthly newsletter), journalist Karina Sturm spoke with author and fellow EDS warrior, Jessica MacLean. Despite never being able to hold a pencil correctly, MacLean was first published during high school, and she became a writer. The Arizona native’s recently published book, Arizona Rain, tells the stories of her […]

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Mitch Martow on his EDS journey and the documentary Bend or Break

For our January Chronic Pain Partners Post, journalist Karina Sturm spoke with Mitch Martow, an EDS advocate from Toronto, Canada. Martow is best known for being the focus of the 2021 released Canadian EDS documentary Bend or Break. In this interview, you’ll get close to Martow and his humorous side while he shares how he […]

Ryann, a person with short brown hair and a black nursing outfit is sitting in a red wheelchair proudly holding her arm up high with her mouth open. She wears a stethoscope around her neck and several tattoos are visible on her arms.

The Road to Recovery Was Paved By Me and My Wheelchair: Q&A With Ryann Mason

Many people with chronic illnesses, like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) or other disabling or deteriorating conditions, are often afraid of the possibility of “ending up in a wheelchair.” It is a real fear. But what if we changed our thinking? Wheelchairs provide freedom; they aren’t the end, but empowering and enabling for the user. And sometimes, […]

Anoushé, a woman wearing an athletic sports outfit, with a colorful leggings and a blue shirt. She is barefoot, has tape around her hand and fingers and around the elbow of her missing other arm. She wears a red and beige head scarf and is smiling slightly.

Para climber Anoushé Husain on “believing in the impossible”, her cancer diagnosis, EDS journey, and the sports she loves

For our December newsletter, journalist Karina Sturm interviewed Anoushé Husain. Husain is a civil servant and paraclimber who broke the Guinness Book of World Records for climbing the greatest distance on a climbing wall in one hour, as a female climber with only one hand. She was born with half an arm, has beaten cancer, […]

A young woman next to a man. The woman has long blonde hair and is wearing a blue shirt and white pants. She sits on a beige chair and smiles slightly. On her arm some tattoos are visible. Next to her sits a man with short brown hair, wearing a blue shirt and a dark blue jacket.

EDSed Episode 1: The Norris Lab

EDSed is our new series of full-length interviews with international EDS experts.  These educational interview series with journalistic (news) quality is complementary to our webinar recordings and another free resource we provide for our community. All films are produced by journalist, and We Are Visible filmmaker Karina Sturm and sponsored by Chronic Pain Partners. You […]

Brianne, a white woman in her mid-30s wearing black framed glasses and dark brown hair in a messy bun, sits perched on a high stool in a snowy yard holding a cane between her thighs while smiling at the camera with evergreen trees in the background. She’s wearing a light blue bathrobe and a pink scarf, and holds one bare hand up to wave at the camera.”

Chronic Illness Advocate Brianne Benness about her EDS journey and #NEISVoid

For our November newsletter, journalist Karina Sturm interviewed Brianne Benness, the host of No End In Sight, a podcast about life with chronic illness and a chronically ill person’s journey to diagnosis. She is a co-founder of Stories We Don’t Tell, where she talks about hypermobility, mast cell disorders, and recontextualizing old experiences using new […]