As I'm sure you all know, I like a few beers. I especially love sitting down with an extra hoppy craft IPA at the end of a long week!

But I've decided to give all that up for October so I can raise some money & awareness for the Ehlers-Danlos Society.

Since Carol's diagnosis last year, the EDS Society have proved to be an amazing resource and an important source of support. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder which not many people know about, even in the medical community, so research & treatments are still considered to be fairly cutting-edge medicine. That's why EDS sufferers are known as 'zebras' - because medical students are repeatedly taught "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras", so that doctors won't be tempted to ascribe symptoms to strange & exotic causes instead of the most likely common illnesses. But in doing so, many doctors forget that rare & complex illnesses are possible - like EDS, which affects every system in the body in seemingly unrelated ways. Because of this, it can take decades before people are diagnosed with EDS, and even then, accessing the proper medical treatment is incredibly difficult, as many specialists are required to diagnose the various symptoms & manage this complex condition.

Undaunted, the EDS Society works tirelessly to raise awareness and support those with EDS, despite being funded only by charitable contributions. Whether it be organising their annual conferences chaired by EDS specialists, or their many local online support meetings, or their ECHO program to teach medical professionals about EDS, or their weekly newsletters offering health advice, personal stories & research updates, the EDS Society constantly reassures us that they are in this with us, and that no-one has to face this disease alone.

Most importantly, because EDS is still so poorly understood, the Ehlers-Danlos Society's research is pivotal to unlocking many of the unknowns about the disease. Their research will be truly life-changing for many EDS sufferers. After all, if the mechanisms behind symptoms can be identified, these can be targeted to offer better treatment. And although genetic testing is possible for other types of EDS, none exists yet for hypermobile EDS. This is why the Society's global HEDGE Study to identify the underlying genetic markers involved in hEDS is such an important project, and deserves as much help as we can offer.

Help me keep the EDS Society's work going - for Carol, and for every other 'zebra' who desperately needs them to continue their trailblazing research, their campaigns & all their support for people affected by EDS.

Thank you, everybody. And see you in November for a big ol' pint! ;o)