30: Bethany Tells Us How She Literally Needed To Have Her Head Screwed Back On To Stay Alive

Bethany grew up in a small town outside of Winnipeg, Canada, living with chronic illness since birth—without ever knowing why. For years, her symptoms were dismissed, misunderstood, or left unexplained, until she was finally diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder.As her condition worsened, Bethany learned that her C1 and C2 vertebrae were unstable, causing brainstem compression whenever she was upright—a condition so severe it carried the risk of internal decapitation. With no neurosurgeons in Canada willing or able to take her case, Bethany was forced to look beyond her country for answers.Her search took her to the United States and ultimately Spain, where advanced imaging revealed the full extent of the danger—and led to a life-saving surgery to stabilize her head and cervical spine.This is Bethany’s story of chronic illness, medical disbelief, and what it takes to survive when the system can’t help you—and time is running out.