How Silversplints Support Isabel’s Daily Life with hEDS

“When I sneeze, my shoulder can pop out of its socket”

The story of Isabel Gielen and her life with Ehlers-Danlos
📷 Photos: Karel Hemerijckx
📚 Based on the article from Het Belang van Limburg (May 27, 2025):
Isabel suffers from a rare connective tissue disorder: “When I sneeze, my shoulder can pop out of its socket”

When you meet Isabel Gielen, one thing immediately catches your eye: her hands, wrists, and elbows are adorned with shiny silver rings and spirals. But appearances can be deceiving. The 18 Silversplints she wears are not fashion accessories – they are medically necessary supports for her hypermobile joints.

Isabel (42), from Lummen, lives with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), a rare genetic connective tissue disorder. As a child, her flexibility was admired – she was nicknamed “snake girl” – but her chronic pain wasn’t taken seriously for years. She wasn’t correctly diagnosed until she was 32. By then, much of the damage to her joints had already occurred.

“When I sneeze, my shoulder can pop out of its socket,” she told Het Belang van Limburg in an interview.

The Silversplints Isabel wears are custom-made to provide stability to her fingers, hands, and arms, helping her to function better in daily life. Over the years, she also developed creative ways to adapt them: she connects them with plastic straps to keep them from slipping off – and even uses them as tiny musical instruments by tapping them on the table.

Despite numerous surgeries, hospital stays, and physical limitations, Isabel remains resilient. She sleeps surrounded by a nest of pillows to support her body, receives help from family and home care professionals, and even discovered a new passion: beekeeping. She unfortunately had to give up her job as a nurse, but is determined to maintain her quality of life – without strong painkillers, for as long as possible.

Isabel’s story shows how important it is for people with EDS to be recognized – and to have access to the right tools. The diagnosis of hEDS is often made late, meaning patients endure unnecessary damage from years of living without proper support.

At We Design Silversplints, we believe that every body deserves support – both literally and figuratively. Isabel demonstrates what becomes possible when aids are designed with care, precision, and respect for the individual.

Isabel lives with #hEDS and wears 18 custom-made Silversplints — including ring splints, our short wrist splint, and the titanium elbow splint — to stabilize and support her joints. 💪