Stephanie Aston, 33, died at her New Zealand home on September 1 after a public battle with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) — a genetic disorder she was accused of faking.
The misdiagnosis severely impacted her medical care, and fellow New Zealanders with EDS believe that if she hadn’t been prevented from receiving proper care for her illness, she would still be alive.
An advocate for invisible illnesses, Aston started speaking out in 2018 after a doctor said instead of EDS, she had “Factitious Disorder,” the New Zealand Herald reports.
Previously known as Munchausen’s, the Mayo Clinic describes Factitious Disorder as “is a serious mental disorder in which someone deceives others by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick or by self-injury.” Read More
