Dan Bejar’s final piece in his illustrative series on chronic illnesses for Oprah Magazine tackles the hardships related to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The rare connective tissue disorder occurs when a person’s collagen protein, which helps in fortifying the joints (basically the “glue” of the body), becomes malformed.
The full-page illustration, titled “Ascend” (AD: Gillian MacLeod), accompanies an article about a Harvard student with EDS who, in order to make it to class, has to wear a neck brace and kinesiology tape on her joints. Her long-term aim is to one day be able to develop stem cell therapeutics for connective tissue diseases.
