'I can't have sex without dislocating my hip': Student, 19, has bizarre condition where her joints constantly pop out of place
· Darcey Kelly has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which leads to weak joints
- Causes painful dislocations from doing everyday tasks like opening a jar
- Spends a lot of time in hospital but often tries tries to fix problems herself
- Sharing her experience after being abused for using disabledparking bay
The painful condition often leads to her needing
hospital treatment as her joints can dislocate 20 times a day
Darcey Kelly, 19, has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) a rare and agonising condition which causes her joints to come out of place.
The conditions is so severe the University College London student has
been forced to live on a liquid diet to avoid her jaw repeatedly locking.
She cannot even open a bottle of water without dislocating her wrist.
The most embarrassing moment she said was when she first had sex with
her boyfriend and her hip popped out of the socket.
'I was quite young at the time and sex is scary anyway at that age,' she
said.
'But I was trying to go for it and then all of a sudden I heard a loud
crack. He didn't hear it but saw I had this contorted face of pain like I
looked really disgusted. I didn't want to hurt his ego so said 'um can you give
me a minute' and I hobbled over to the bathroom to pop it back in. And then we
went back to it.'
The hereditary illness means her sister, who is a circus performer, and
her stuntman brother both have it but Miss Kelly is the worst affected. Miss
Kelly, from Elstree, Hertfordshire, said she can have up to 20 agonising
episodes a day.
'On a bad day I can't get out of bed because I've dislocated like ten
things getting out of bed but on a good day I might get six dislocations,’ she
said.
The life-limiting condition means her life expectancy could be limited to between 35 and 40-years-old.