Kaden Bradway

I’ve lived a life defined by constant change and resilience. By the time I finished high school, I had attended seventeen different schools. Between the ages of four and six, I traveled across many states with my mother before we eventually returned to California. Even after that, stability was something I rarely knew — I lived with different family members for much of my childhood. Through it all, it was always me and my little sister, and from a young age I took on a caretaker role for her. She became like my own child, even though she was only a year younger than me.

I wasn’t chronically ill growing up. My early life challenges were mostly external — emotional instability, moving often, and learning to survive in environments that weren’t always secure. The first real sign that something might be physically wrong came when I was around eleven or twelve. I experienced severe abdominal pain that led to an ambulance call and was later diagnosed with IBS, though that diagnosis was hidden from me at the time. At thirteen, I began developing symptoms of cholinergic urticaria — an allergic reaction to my own sweat and acetylcholine, triggered by heat and strong emotions. Living in California’s summer heat made that incredibly difficult to manage, but I pushed through.

Around fifteen and a half, I started experiencing fainting spells, breathlessness, and what I thought were panic attacks. They felt different though — more like sudden adrenaline surges that left me drained and confused. Six months later, chronic pain set in. It began as an all-over ache, almost flu-like, but grew sharper over time. Then came the joint pain — deep, bone-level pain, clicking, cracking, and sharp stabbing sensations that turned out to be partial and full dislocations. My body was quite literally coming apart in small ways I couldn’t yet understand.

Over the next year, I developed neuropathic pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction, and the hallmark symptoms of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and Small Fiber Neuropathy. By seventeen, I was fully disabled — doctors didn’t know what was happening, and I felt trapped inside a body that no longer worked the way it should.

Despite it all, I adapted. I switched to online school through Connections Academy around the time my symptoms began worsening, and I’m proud to say that I graduated in 2025. My health journey has been difficult, but it’s also shown me the strength of endurance — and the importance of understanding, compassion, and alternative approaches to healing.