Kilkenny animator fundraising for those affected by under-acknowledged genetic condition

Kilkenny animator Reece Chapman is currently hosting a fundraiser for 'EDS Awareness Ireland'.

This group operates a private support group for those directly affected by the impact of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS).

EDS causes a variety of symptoms ranging from joint instability to chronic pain, gastro-intestinal and incontinence issues, fragile skin and many more.

It is a condition that Reece has a personal stake in as Reece's partner suffers from it and it has put a strain on quite a lot of facets of her life.

"It's a blessing that her condition isn't as bad as it could be as she was told when she was young that she would have a reduced life expectancy, would probably require a wheelchair as well as needing to give up activities that could harm her in the long run," Reece said.

"For the first five years of the news, she had death hanging above her head with only a single sentence in a pamphlet to explain it (this was in the UK and back when there were only 3 types that were regognised by the NHS)."

In the space of a decade, there have been 13 different types of EDS recognised (previously there were only 3).

Currently, there are very few doctors that are qualified to help people with EDS here in Ireland, often needing residents to be treated privately in the UK which will cost an enormous amount of money just to be helped.

The root across all types of EDS is defective collagen which is the most abundant protein found in the human body.

Reece says that the money raised by the fundraiser will go to spreading the information further and making it more accessible so that people can be diagnosed and treated more effectively.

With the wide range of symptoms, it's easy for doctors to misdiagnose and give ineffective treatment.

Reece will be doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats every day throughout August as part of the fundraiser.

Please donate what you can to help out those impacted by this severely under-acknowledged condition by CLICKING HERE.