May is Hypermobility and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome awareness month. As someone with Hypermobile EDS, I want to take some time to raise awareness.
EDS is a joint condition that causes chronic pain and fatigue. Another symptom is dysautonomia, where a part of your body starts over-reacting or shutting down.
I've known I have Hypermobility since I was a kid, and I was bullied and ignored by the adults around me. I was pushed past my physical limits and forced to put myself in pain because these people were ignorant and refused to listen to a disabled little girl or her parents.
As I grew older, my condition got worse. I was diagnosed with hEDS at 13, and even then, after a diagnosis, I was still ignored and put down by people who were meant to look out for me.
EDS isn't a visible disability. You can't look at me and know that I have it. All you see is an unfit teenager who sits out during PE. What I feel is pain in my joints and the consequence of mock-hypothermia from my dysautonomia if I push past my limits.
This awareness month, I'm tired of fighting to be treated properly, so I atleast want to be heard. Stop treating invisible disabilities like they don't exist when it's not convenient.
Treat disabled people like people.
