I have a lot of posts critiquing doctors. So, I wanted to make a thread highlighting a great experience I had with a doctor a couple years ago. This is both to give him recognition, and also to help inform other doctors on ways they can increase their quality of care. 1/

I have and (probably always will) use William Ericson as my star example of a great doctor. I was sent to him right after I got my hEDS diagnosis from a physiatrist (not psychiatrists; Look into physiatry if you haven't already) that used to treat my TOS. 2/

He is an orthopedic surgeon that specializes on upper extremity conditions. He has vast experience operating on hEDS/HSD patients. He has written articles about orthopedic management of EDS and given seminars to help educate the medical community on the topic (below). 3/

"Orthopaedic management of the Ehlers–Danlos syndromes" https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajmg.c.31551

“Orthopedic Issues in the EDS Hand, Wrist and Arm” 4/

"The Evaluation & Treatment of Thumb, Wrist, and Arm Pain & Weakness in Hypermobile Patients with EDS and HSD" (transcript: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/pdf/Webinar-Transcripts/2019-Ericson-Thumb-Wrist-Arm-Pain-Weakness.pdf) 5/

The first thing I noticed about him was his infectious positive energy. He immediately put me at ease. He made me feel safe. He made me feel believed. He took all my concerns seriously and never looked at me with skepticism. 6/

He didn't rush me. He took a detailed history and REALLY listened to ALL of my concerns, and there were a LOT bc he was the first doc I met with a great deal of hEDS knowledge. 7/

He didn't say things like, "Oh, that's not my area and I can't help you. Why are you here to see ME?" He listened, and he validated my frustration over not getting the help I needed. 8/

Then he'd explain what he knew about each concern, and for things he couldn't help with, he sent me to a knowledgeable specialist. Also, his referrals and notes were detailed and specific enough that each new doctor understood my situation and exactly why I was sent there. 9/

He conducted a thorough, and extremely gentle (THIS IS IMPORTANT), physical exam. He explained the things going wrong with my arms and hands, and what he could help fix. 10/

He pioneered one of the surgeries for a condition (see posters) that current tests are poor at diagnosing (resulting in many people not being believed or treated). "One must treat the patient rather than the test result."

http://www.wbericson.org/Downloads_files/ASSH%20Poster%202004.pdf

http://www.wbericson.org/Downloads_files/Dual%20Oblique%20Incisions%205-10.pdf 11/

He showed me a slide show of how other doctors would do the surgeries (totally different surgeries that often don't help), vs how he would do them. 12/

He even went into detail about how his stitches would differ bc of my hEDS, and how ugly the scars were from other docs that didn't know better. Picture shows example of scars from thumb and wrist surgery. 13/

He explained exactly how likely it was that the surgery would be successful (not 100%, but close), what would happen the day of surgery, how I would feel after, what the after care would look like, how long it would be until I could do different activities. 14/

He wrote me a medical note to give to my boss explaining how soon I could work and what accommodations I may need when I returned (this should ALWAYS be done). 15/

On the day of surgery, he put me at ease with his positivity and confidence. He/his team listened to accommodations I needed during surgery (I had them rock my neck back and forth bc my neck CAN'T be still for long - learned the hard way, but that's a topic for another day). 16/

I woke up with no pain. He gently manipulated my recently operated on hand/wrist/thumb to test them (honestly don't know why), but he was super gentle and it didn't hurt at all. I went home not long after, with detailed instructions for post-op care. 17/

I healed quickly and gained a ton of function in that arm/hand. Lost a lot of pain. The surgeries for my other arm/hand went similarly and had similar results. The experience couldn't have been better. I would not have finished my PhD without him/the surgeries. 18/

After the surgeries, he genuinely seemed like he would miss me and our discussions (and all the research I'd bring him that we would talk about at length). He told me not to be a stranger and if I needed *anything* to contact him. I genuinely miss him all the time. 19/

He did so much for me, even beyond the surgeries he did and the function he gave me. He literally transformed my entire medical journey by making sure I got access to care for my whole body. I was lost before I met him and he was the one that finally gave me direction. 20/

If you are a doctor and are reading this, and you are thinking, "You can't compare us all to him. We don't have the knowledge/training he had in these conditions," I'm here to tell you that you, like him, can choose to learn. 21/

Even if it's not as extensive as the leaning he has done, it would take you a couple hours to read several articles. I know you're busy. I know, I know. But most doctors have almost zero knowledge about hEDS, and we end up wasting YEARS searching for answers. 22/

You could be the doctor that, even if you can't treat all of our issues, or even any of them, YOU could be the person that starts our journey of finally getting proper treatment. Even the right referral can be life changing for us. Heck, just being believed can help us. 23/

So I encourage doctors to learn, to remove your bias, and to really listen to us. And I encourage patients to keep searching. Amazing doctors that understand us are out there. AND hopefully, as doctors learn more, we won't have to search as hard to find our Dr. Ericson. 24/24