In 1987 I was born. I was about a month overdue and it would take 30+ years to learn I was born with Ehlers- Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a rare genetic mixed connective tissue disease. It puts me at a greater risk for numerous comorbidities. In elementary school I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and later in high school it was discovered I have the hyperactivity portion too (ADHD) and therefore I am neurodivergent. 2006 I suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The damage is forever so it’s considered a chronic mental illness, and it just adds to the neurodivergency. In 2015 I ended up pregnant and developed Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) within the second trimester. To be honest I’m pretty sure I’ve had mild POTS most of my life and pregnancy just exacerbated it. Although it wasn’t diagnosed until 2019, along with EDS. In 2020 I was diagnosed with Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO), as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ Myalgic Encephalomelyitis (CFS/ME) and Fibromyalgia. I already had post viral syndrome (Long Covid) before Covid-19 was even a thing, and I’ve had that twice already in 2022. I’m dealing with extra long covid these days, in addition to Complex PTSD from a list of traumatic experiences. I’ll write a post listing them out at some point. This is a follow up post to my last one about chronic illnesses being like Pokémon.

So in my thirties it was discovered I have a rare mixed connective tissue disease called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. What that is in a nutshell is basically I have faulty collagen and it can affect me systemically. Collagen is a protein, the most prominent one actually. If you remember from grade school, proteins are the building blocks of life. If you build a house with faulty material, the house is going to fall apart eventually. Same goes for a human body.

It was deemed I have the Hypermobile kind of EDS, the least dangerous of the 13 different types. The geneticist had me go through genetic testing to rule out the most dangerous type that affect the vascular system, which I have all of the physical markers for. No recognizable genetic mutations were found, hence the diagnosis of hypermobile type. That is the only type that doesn’t have a discovered genetic mutation. Two genetic mutations were discovered but were determined to be insignificant. One is linked to the vascular system, and the other is linked to the cardiac system.

Like I said there are 13 different types of EDS and the deadliest is the vascular kind (VEDS). There is also a cardiac type, Cardiac-valvular EDS (cvEDS). In order for a person to inherit EDS both the father and mother must have it, and then it’s still 50/50 as to whether the kid is going to inherit it. It all depends on how the genetics combine.

My theory is that humans are said to have evolved from apes. Apes are hypermobile. Human babies are born hypermobile as well. Some people keep their hypermobility as they grow, and others lose it. Hypermobile is how we were designed to be. To be continuously learning and developing, engaging our brains daily. To be open minded. Apes can learn signs for a language they don’t even speak. Their brains are definitely hypermobile along with their bodies. That’s why there is no specific genetic mutation for the hypermobile type, because we are all designed to be hypermobile.

To take it one step further, I have an explanation for the religious route as well.I believe Adam and Eve both needed to have hyper mobile and gifted brains in order to create an entire race. By gifted I mean Asperger’s, level 1 autism. A link between EDS and Autism was discovered in 2020. And with the way genetics work that would mean everyone is at least a little bit autistic. But more on that theory later

Now back to my point of this article, I believe my personal type of EDS is a combination between VEDS, and cvEDS. The reason I’ve come to that conclusion is because neither side of my family is the healthiest. The geneticist needed to rule out the vascular type because of my physical appearance. Well, I look like my mom. We have a lot of the same traits, small ear lobes, light almost translucent skin, thin upper lip. Though her skin is even more lighter than mine, but we both turn purple with maudling when we’re cold. I’m not saying my mom has VEDS, but I’m theorizing that someone in her gene pool had it. Same with my dad, he already has cardiac valvular issues because he has three stents in his veins near his heart. My grandfather, his dad, went through open heart surgery as well. It’s a fact that you don’t need to need the full genetic mutation in order to inherit some of the traits.

So while I don’t have the mutations, because I have POTS, I have issues with my veins and circulation, and I have issues with my heart rate every day of my life. It is my strong belief that at least one of my ancestors had VEDS and at least one had cvEDS, and my parents got together and gave birth to a ticking medical time bomb that I feel I am. The doctors can’t seem to find any answers other than CPTSD, but I’m telling you I know something is wrong. I’m anempath, I’ve been blessed with great intuition and I’ve been right about other medical things in my life. I’m just afraid that they wont figure it out until it’s too late.