Lena Dunham reveals rare condition which means she uses cane
Written by News on 04/11/2019
Lena Dunham has revealed that she suffers from a rare syndrome which means she sometimes needs to walk using a cane.
In a post on her Instagram account, she hit back at a paparazzi photo of her using the cane, saying she did not feel “embarrassed”.
The creator and star of Girls, 33, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS).
The rare inherited condition can cause issues such as loose and unstable joints, fatigue, and skin that breaks or bruises easily.
For some sufferers, the condition can be disabling.
Dunham wrote: “I could choose to be embarrassed by these paparazzi pics – I mean, that’s probably the point of someone publishing them in the first place- but I’m really not.
“An Ehler-Danlos syndrome flare means that I need support from more than just my friends… so thank you, sweet cane!
“For years, I resisted doing anything that would make my physical situation easier, insisting that a cane would ‘make things weird’.
“But it’s so much less weird to actually be able to participate than to stay in bed all day.”
She joked that the picture could have been a Halloween costume, writing: “Don’t you get it? I’m going as a con woman leaving a Florida Keys jail after being acquitted of murdering her husband, and now she’s trying to get disability license plates.”
The TV star also spoke about how she has coped with the chronic illness while juggling a career.
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“Yeah, so I can wear my glamour nighty for two hours,” she said. “And then an hour later, I’m in a meeting look tackling the job I love.
“That’s the two-fold life of a woman with chronic illness; we still rock our dreams and goals and passions (and fashions) and we live many lives in one day. Tell me about your day!”
Dunham has previously spoken out about her mental health, as well as suffering from endometriosis.
Singer Sia and The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil have previously revealed that they suffer from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
(c) Sky News 2019: Lena Dunham reveals rare condition which means she uses cane
