It is EDS Awareness Month

What is EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome)? In 2017, I was asking the same question when some doctors diagnosed me with it. The research and journey began as I sought answers not only for how I was feeling but what could I do about it. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of inherited disorders that affect your connective tissues — primarily your skin, joints and blood vessel walls. This comes with myriad of symptoms and strange occurrences that I’m still learning how to deal with. You can check out the EDS society page here. My journey started after giving birth to Melanie in 2016. I couldn’t walk for 3 months after and was in so much pain but not just from delivering a child at the age of 44! The trips to the doctor offices started and we finally got some answers. I feel blessed because not only have I not been reduced to a wheelchair but at the time of my diagnosis, I had a friend who was going through this journey with her daughter on a much more dire level so I was aware of this syndrome. There are 13 classifications of EDS. The most common one is hyper mobility (which is the one I exhibit) with others being more rare and unknown. What does hyper-mobile mean? This means being extra flexible and having stretching skin. There are a myriad of symptoms that generally have to be dealt with one on one. There are days I’m with Jeremiah when he said, “Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed?” (15:18) I can’t always function or accomplish the things I want to do in a day but God does remind me often through Isaiah 41:10 of a great truth. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” I feel blessed that I do not have harsh health issues like many in the world. I have a Savior Who cares about me and takes care of me and so I can walk the path I’ve been given knowing that I’m not alone. Want to chat about EDS? Pain? Joy? Comment below and we will chat. When life is tough remember God gives grace.