More than just flexible

The story of Katie

I am very lucky that my case is considered mild. I’m able to live a very full and active life that I share with my family and dogs. Since I was young I’ve known I was flexible, more flexible than any of my friends. I’ve also had medical complaints that no doctor seemed to have a good answer for. At times, I thought that perhaps I was just a hypochondriac. Perhaps everyone has painful joints, muscles and daily headaches and I just complain more than most? I went through years of testing including a colonoscopy at 23 after more than a decade of gastrointestinal issues with no explanation. I’ve had more sprains and subluxations than I can count and painful hip dislocation. It wasn’t until my daughter was born and doctors suspected she had a connective tissue disorder and my husband and I took her to the UC Davis MIND Institute to meet a geneticist who specializes in connective tissue disorders when a doctor finally had an explanation for my symptoms…”you clearly have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility type.”