Emma

Emma was diagnosed with VEDS when she was 20 years old, not long after losing her brother and father to VEDS in the same year. She grew up knowing that VEDS was in her family; seven people, including her, have now been diagnosed. With the decision to be genetically tested left up to her, it was her brother’s sudden passing at 25 that led her to do so. She tells the story of how she was diagnosed, what it was like knowing this was in her family growing up, and the anxiety that comes with living with VEDS. She also tells us how she met Justin, her husband, and their decision to start the Defy Foundation together as college students.