There’s a moment I keep replaying in my mind. It was Boxing Day 2024.
I sat down on a chair, sideways, and completely forgot there was no back to support me. I jolted suddenly as I leaned into nothing, and in that split second, I felt a sharp pain at the base of my spine.
I brushed it off at first. But the next morning, my body made it very clear: this wasn’t nothing. I woke up in severe pain and couldn’t lift my left leg properly. Within days, I was barely functioning. Putting socks on was impossible. I was hobbling around in my brother’s size 11 flip-flops… in December.
The Dismissal
Eventually, I made my way to a walk-in centre. The pain had gotten worse. I was examined, tested for a kidney infection, and told it was “just a muscle strain.” I was sent home with advice to rest. But as I sat there listening to the advise, every part of me was screaming: This isn’t right. Something is wrong.
Still, I left. And still, I didn’t get better.Only Worse.
Trusting My Gut (and Paying the Price)
Eventually, I paid to see a private physiotherapist. It took minutes for her to recognise that my hip was completely out of alignment. It was stuck, which explained why I couldn’t move my leg properly.
After some seriously uncomfortable pulling and adjustments, my hip was finally back in place. After a few days i could finally lift my leg fully.
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder that makes me more prone to injuries like this. The walk-in clinic never considered it could be connected. But the physiotherapist knew exactly what to look for.
What If I Didn’t Speak Up?
That question has haunted me ever since. What if I hadn’t trusted my instincts? What if I couldn’t afford the private appointment? What if I had taken their word for it and just “rested”? How much longer would I have been in pain? could this of caused permanent damage?
This experience shook me, not just physically, but emotionally too. Because I knew the moment it happened that something wasn’t right. I knew my own body. And yet, it still took me too long to push for proper help.
A Familiar Pattern
This isn’t just a one-off experience for me, it’s something I’ve explored in depth.
Back in 2018, for my MSc in Health Psychology, I wrote my dissertation on exactly this kind of situation. It was a qualitative study titled:
“It’s a very much no-win situation, you are the underdog in the room, the minute you walk into the doctor’s surgery” — Experiences of Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Patients’ Encounters of Healthcare Professionals: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.”
The research explored how people with hEDS are often dismissed, misunderstood, or not taken seriously by healthcare professionals. Participants described walking into appointments already feeling like they were on the back foot—like they had to fight to be believed.
And here I was, years later, living that same struggle firsthand.
Why Listening to Ourselves Matters
Our bodies carry wisdom. That internal knowing, the sense that something isn’t quite right—we need to listen to this.
Whether it’s about your physical health, emotional wellbeing, or mental state, I want you to know this:
You are the expert on your own experience.
You have every right to speak up, to ask more questions, and to seek a second opinion.
You don’t need to justify your instincts. They’re there to protect you.
Final Thoughts
I’m sharing this not just as a personal story, but as a reminder. So many people—especially those with chronic conditions like EDS—are dismissed or overlooked by the very systems meant to help us. But your voice, your body, and your gut feeling matter.
If you’re ever in doubt, listen in. Your body is always speaking—it just takes courage to trust what it’s saying.