Donna Sullivan About Medically Complex Children

EDS Unplugged Episode 2: Medically Complex Children

This is the second episode of a new podcast by our collab partner Chronic Pain Partners called “EDS Unplugged”. In this episode, hosts Cassandra and Marcia speak with Donna Sullivan, a fierce advocate and filmmaker, who has co-produced the film “Complicated” which highlights false claims of medical child abuse in families with medically complex children, particularly Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

In this episode, Donna recounts how her family’s experiences led her into advocacy through a parent network, which worked early on to raise awareness and connect families with clinicians willing to engage with EDS. She explains that as more severe pediatric cases surfaced, some families were flagged and investigated by Child Protective Services when providers misunderstood rare-disease complexity—an escalation that helped drive her to create the documentary Complicated. 

Listen to the Episode here: 

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found on our partner’s website.