47. Hannah French: living & working with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

This episode we are sharing the space with BBC Radio 3 presenter and flautist, Hannah French. Recorded in a North London office space, we listened as Hannah explained to us her journey to a diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a collagen deficiency which affects the soft tissue and has impacted her ability to walk, play the flute and live life as she once knew it. She took us through the reality of living with EDS, and the process of moving away from flute performance and into her current job as a presenter at BBC Radio 3. We talked about the power that radio now has in her life, creating a space to tell stories and shape a listeners' experience and the process of creating the amazing documentary for Radio 3, The Silence of My Pain in 2020.Thank you to Hannah for her honesty about her pain experience and for your wonderful presence and infectious humour!Hannah's documentary, The Silence of My Pain, will be played again this Friday, 9th September on BBC Radio 3 at 10pmClick here for transcriptsWanna jump around? Timestamps:0:00: Intro2:25: Welcome to Hannah4:00 What is EDS?8:00: Discovering Hannah's EDS and playing the flute14:25: Moving into academia and research15:35: Accommodating people with disabilities in music19:00: Acceptance of disability and illness20:15: Pastoral welfare of students; working at the Royal Academy of Music as a lecturer and tutor23:30: Loss of identity as a flautist26:00: Moving into radio and working for the BBC28:18: The liberation of radio29:15: Does Hannah feel envious when presenting/watching performances?31:45: The psychological impact of pain36:30: Managing difficult emotions, anxiety and coping mechanisms39:00: Working with and not against pain41:50: Making the documentary, The Silence of My Pain45:30: The importance of silence in Hannah's life46:45: Fascination and flow53:22: Unapologetic visibility55:15: Starting conversations about pain and disability56:35: Removing shame and presenting an honest depiction of pain1:01:30: Wins of the week!Things Musicians Don't Talk About website: https://www.thingsmusiciansdonttalkabout.comSign up to our Patreon!TMDTA TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you would like to support our work, why not buy us a Kofi? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.