Not many people know what Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, also known as E.D.S is but sophomore Emily Currington was diagnosed with E.D.S at the age of nine.
“When I was nine I was picking my dog up and my knee popped out of socket and after many doctor visits I went and got genetic testing done and they were able to track it to E.D.S,” Currington said.
E.D.S is a genetic condition where your joints are really shallow causing them to pop out of socket, making everyday tasks harder. There is no cure for E.D.S, surgery is an option but there isn’t a big success rate. Currington goes to physical therapy once a week and she will for the rest of her life.
“When I wake up there’s a little bit of pain but usually it goes away and if I sit or stand too long then it will start to hurt a little but it’s normal,” Currington said. “Then my knees will get really red and that’s a sign that I have to stop and take a minute.”
Currington’s favorite thing to do is run but unfortunately E.D.S has limited her running to shorter periods of time and she can’t run as often as she wants to. Recently Currington was running and her knee popped out of socket but it stayed out of socket for a few minutes this time and the next day it was very swollen and she couldn’t move without extreme pain. The doctor told her that this time she tore some of her tendons and they were bleeding into her knee socket creating pain and swelling.
“We’re all very hopeful that they will find something that will help me or people that have EDS like me so I can do normal activities but until then we just have to wait,” Currington said.
