The key points are temporarily unavailable. You can still read the full Story below.
Main Points
A 22-year-old woman has made an emotional public plea for help, saying she fears she is dying as serious health problems continue to affect her body.
The woman, who identifies herself as Olivia, said she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is currently experiencing severe problems involving her bladder and gastrointestinal system.
“I’m dying and no one is doing anything,” Olivia said at the beginning of the video.
She told viewers that doctors have said there is nothing more they can do, but she remains hopeful that someone with knowledge of her condition may be able to offer another option.
“The doctors told me that there is nothing we can do,” she said.
Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, commonly referred to as EDS, are a recognised group of inherited connective-tissue disorders. Depending on the type and individual, the conditions can affect different parts of the body.
Medical literature documents gastrointestinal problems among people with EDS, including abnormal gut movement, constipation, diarrhoea and other digestive difficulties. Bladder dysfunction has also been documented, particularly in association with hypermobile EDS.
However, EDS varies considerably between patients, and Olivia’s description of her body “failing” should be understood as her account of her individual medical situation rather than something that occurs in everyone with the condition.
Olivia said she decided to speak publicly not only about her own situation but also to raise awareness for other patients facing similar medical challenges.
She described watching friends die while now fearing for her own life.
“I have watched friends die. I’m watching myself die,” she said.
Olivia described the video as her plea to the world and the internet, hoping someone who sees it may know of treatment or assistance that could help her and others experiencing similar problems.
While the medical complications she describes can overlap with documented problems associated with EDS, her individual diagnosis, prognosis and account of what doctors have told her have not been independently verified.
Olivia, 22, pleads for help as serious health problems worsen
Article and image source: instagram.com
