hypermobility

I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome, and it is anything but a gift. My family is spending tens of thousands of dollars on spinal surgery for me, and I haven't been able to attend a full day of school in many, many years. If you do have hypermobile joints, DO NOT hyperextend them - the consquences can be horrible, painful, and unfixable. I can't walk normally, I have pain all over my body, and will never have children. Please, please be careful, I can think of nothing worse then knowing I could have prevented this happening to myself.
I so know about the judgemental doctors my mum waited 45 years in sickness before a diagnosis, and I still practically have to beg for help before I get any medication. I feel so ugly, nobody wants someone that walks crooked and is too sick to do things (I don't know, maybe I'm wrong). It's one thing to be paralyzed and have the rest of the body work, but my whole body is broken and I have so much pain. I get a lot of cold sweats and numbness too, apparently it's from dysautonomia and stretching blood vessels
Vicki - You may want to look into ring splints for your hands - they're actually a very pretty kind of finger brace, they're almost like elaborate jewellry that helps with pain!