Exclusive: A Melbourne artist says she risks losing the use of her arm completely if she doesn't scrape together enough money to pay for a rare surgery.
Dayna Lynch, 26, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a group of widely misunderstood connective tissue disorders, that has progressively worsened over the past few years.
Lynch told 9news.com.au her arm began showing signs of weakening when she could no longer comfortably hold a pen or click her computer mouse at work.
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"It started happening about two months ago. The pain before that had started getting really bad where I needed to take more breaks," Lynch said.
"But then I was just in the middle of working and I just realised that I actually couldn't use my hand on the mouse.
"My arm is my whole career, essentially. My hands, the graphic work that I do, the websites that I make…"
Lynch has since started a crowdfunding page online to reach her $20,000 goal.
According to the National Library of Medicine, EDS is an umbrella term for a group of hereditary connective tissue disorders and it can result in sharp stabbing, tingling, burning, bone-crushing, shooting or aching pains.
Globally, EDS is thought to occur in around 120 per 100,000 people – meaning there may be around 31,000 people in Australia living with a type of EDS, the majority of which are female.
Lynch has now stepped back from her work at a construction firm and is slowly losing the ability to take care of herself.
She said it is getting to the point where she can't brush her own teeth or get dressed.
"I just can't keep living like this because it's just… it's too painful," she said.
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Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at Google Play.