Woman's rare connective tissue disorder was dismissed for anxiety

A woman who couldn't sit up for more than 30 minutes without fainting was diagnosed with a rare connective tissue disorder after her symptoms were dismissed as anxiety. Crystal Bradley, 23, grew up constantly on crutches and braces from dislocating her joints. When she hit her late teens she started to struggle with "crippling migraines", light and sound sensitivity and even became housebound. Doctors dismissed her symptoms for anxiety but her pain continued to get worse. She would crack her neck to help with the agony she was in and went to see a chiropractor for a year - which she later found out had worsened her condition. After seeking several opinions she was finally diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) - a group of rare inherited conditions that affect connective tissue - in February 2024.