This week on Disabled and Proud Brooke Millhouse is joined by Nina Healthily. Nina has hEDs, a genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue in her body. hEDs is chronically under-researched and rare, it is also invisible. Nina talks openly about how she learnt to accept her disability, how she is also chronically unwell, and how this affects her life. We talk about the pandemic and its impact on accessibility. Disability is not a one size fits all, Nina points out. Only 8% of disabled people in the UK use a wheelchair and therefore are not represented by the traditional symbol of disability. Nina is wonderfully eloquent on disability and I think that this conversation will enlighten anyone in the disabled sphere. 

In this episode you will hear:

• About hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Nina shares how hEDS works and affects her body.
• There are 13 types of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and she has the most common type. It’s seen as rare in the medical community but is actually more rarely diagnosed.
• Nina talks about the medication she takes for some of her comorbid conditions. She also talks about how it has helped her understand her bodily limits.
• STD’s and the many misconceptions about its diagnosis. They talk about the diagnostic criteria for EDS and STD’s and how they can be misdiagnosed.
• Diverse representation of disability. More representation for disabled persons is needed in the media and that does not mean just one person in a wheelchair. They talk about the disabled community in itself being very diverse, needing more representation.

Enjoyed this show? Tell us your favourite moment by connecting with Brooke via https://www.instagram.com/disabledandproudpodcast/

About This Show: 

Disabled and Proud is the show that brings listeners a different perspective on disability. Each week this podcast highlights an awesome disabled guest speaking about their own disability; why they are proud to be disabled and why they are proud to be themselves. 

The conversations in this show will look at what challenges these amazing people face socially, mentally, physically and life in general. This show is raw, open, honest, funny, welcoming and educational. 

Disabled & Proud does exactly what is says on the tin! And whilst we are creating this space for disabled people to be unashamedly themselves, without need to conform for society, this is also not about toxic positivity. This show will be shining a big, bright light on disability without it being “Paralympic or pity”. 

As you will hear disability is WHOLE, COMPLETE & PERFECT and whilst the topic of disability can be quite heavy - and we definitely don't shy away from the bad days - this podcast is also about having fun too! Our aim is to play a part in reclaiming the word disability - turning it from inadequacy to perfection! 

Key Takeaways:

• The disabled community in and of itself is very diverse and therefore disabled representation in the media should be more than one person in a wheelchair.
• Medications can be a big help to chronically ill people. 

Resources

Nina Healthily Instagram

Brooke Millhouse Instagram

INSTAGRAM! https://www.instagram.com/disabledandproudpodcast/?hl=en: https://www.instagram.com/disabledandproudpodcast/?hl=en