Self-Advocacy

Things People Have Done That Made Me Feel More Comfortable as Someone with Chronic Illness

Chronic illness can be isolating in ways that are hard to articulate, even to the people who love you most. It’s not just the physical reality but also the guilt of canceling plans, the exhaustion of explaining yourself, and the fear that your illness is impacting your relationships. I have found great value in people […]

Soft sketch-style illustration of an upright MRI machine with a dark-haired patient seated inside wearing MRI-safe clothing. A female MRI technologist stands beside the machine, speaking with the patient and adjusting the controls. The image depicts a weight-bearing upright MRI in a calm clinical setting.

Seeing the Spine in Motion: Exploring the Potential Benefits of Upright MRI in EDS

This article explores whether upright MRI may be a useful tool for evaluating EDS-related spinal instability. Understanding the limitations of standard MRI and what positional imaging could offer instead, may help patients, clinicians, researchers, advocates, and healthcare providers better navigate the complex neurosurgical landscape of EDS.   Why Supine MRI May Miss the Problem Cervical […]

Tayler sits on white stairs wearing a green sleeveless top and ripped jeans, with an ostomy pouch visible at her waist. Small white flowers are tucked into the waistband of her jeans around the ostomy pouch. She looks toward the camera with a calm, confident expression, portraying everyday life with an ostomy.

My Ostomy Saved My Life

Celebrating My Two-Year Stoma-Versary I used to feel like I couldn’t say, “my ostomy bag saved my life,” because I didn’t get my ostomy bag for the same reasons a lot of people do. Some of the most common reasons people need ostomies are for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), acute infections like diverticulitis, or colon […]

Pencil sketch of a woman in a T-shirt sitting in an armchair by a window, holding a mug and looking thoughtfully outside at a sunlit spring landscape. A lightweight throw blanket drapes across her lap, while a potted plant and candle sit on a small table nearby.

What’s the Point of Pursuing EDS Diagnosis?

Like many people, my hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) was diagnosed after a steep and sudden decline in my health. I had been navigating fatigue, pain, and fogginess for years, but in April 2020, I became bedbound for months following an incident during a Zoom call where I began blacking out and twitching. I had been […]

Illustration of a student with EDS using a cane as she heads to college, pulling a suitcase and carrying a zebra-themed tote bag. A campus building awaits in the distance, symbolizing independence, resilience, and pursuing higher education with a disability.

College Accommodations for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

  Going off to college is an exciting time, filled with new adventures and much more freedom, both personally and academically. However, it can also come with numerous challenges, particularly for students with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and related conditions. On the positive side, increased independence means students with EDS may be able to manage some […]

Minimalist pencil sketch of a woman with long dark hair and a calm, contemplative expression, facing slightly to the side. Subtle abstract shapes and a faint anatomical heart appear behind her. Soft handwritten text in the background reads, “Survival is not resilience. It is grit.”

Persistent

Many timesI have been called resilient. A title inflicted on melike a brilliant,gleaming badge of honor. But it was one that I never asked for.Worn without choiceor the ability to claima different perspective,a different name. I give myself a new description,a title that encompassesthe pain and infliction. I am persistent. Resilience is to bendand not […]