Help Chelsea Access Life-Changing Treatments

If you ever get a chance to spend even just 5 minutes with Chelsea, you’ll know what I mean when I say that it’s like getting a chance to sit next to a rainbow. She is one of the kindest, most caring, inspiring, beautiful, optimistic, hardworking, and magical humans I know.

Chelsea and I bonded while teaching across the hall from each other almost a decade ago. We instantly connected because we both loved to teach, were close in age, and enjoyed each other’s company. Slowly, over time, as we got to know each other more, we began to realize that we both struggled with chronic pain, and in Chelsea's case, an incurable rare disease. This only deepened our love for one another as we swapped stories, lifted each other up when we were feeling down, encouraged each other not to give up, and continued to pursue answers for relief.

Unfortunately, for Chelsea, her disease—called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)—is a connective tissue disorder that has begun to impact her life so much that it has made it difficult for her to do many of the things she loves.

EDS is an extremely painful disorder that manifests as joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility, and tissue fragility. It affects the digestive tract, the heart, the eyes, the reproductive organs, the brain, and potentially any system within the body. This leads to easily torn ligaments, sprained limbs, intense bruising, digestive issues, migraines, pelvic pain, and many other life-limiting pains and injuries.

For example, just recently, Chelsea was swimming in a pool when she was accidentally jumped on by a young child. This resulted in the tearing of the ligaments in her hip, making it a challenge for her to even get around her own home. As a result, she was also unable to begin the school year, which was devastating to her. Five months later, she is still actively working to recover from this incident. Because EDS also results in slower-than-normal healing times, she is even more gravely limited. She is currently trying newer treatment options for people with EDS, such as Prolotherapy and PRP.

Currently, Chelsea is unable to work and therefore risks losing her much-needed insurance. Some treatment options are covered by insurance, while many other potentially helpful options are not. Therefore, these treatments would need to come out of her own pocket, which, in some cases, makes them unattainable. She is actively trying to receive disability, but this is not an easy process and has yet to be granted.

It is my goal to bring a little sunshine into Chelsea’s life by helping raise funds for her so that she can focus on healing, try treatments that may otherwise be financially out of reach, and continue to pursue more answers to help her live the pain-free life she deserves.

I love Chelsea so much, and I wish I could take this all away for her. But since I cannot, please help me assist her by donating to her cause. Thank you, from the bottom of both of our hearts (and Lloyd’s, too)!