Busy Bee on a Saturday Morning

Isabella Marin, 21, was enjoying her Saturday morning at the Farmers Market at the Union Plaza in El Paso, Texas. I noticed she was alone when everyone else was with family and friends. I approached her and started to talk to her. She told me she was alone because she went the weekend before with her mom and saw some cool mugs her mom liked. Isabella figured she would come back to buy them for her mom. As we continued to talk I found out that she is a psychology major at the University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP) and is graduating in May 2016. At school she is a member of Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS), Psi Chi (a psychology organization), and National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). Isabella also does research and is a teachers assistant at UTEP. When she has free time she works as a clerk in her mom’s office.

This busy bee may seem like your usual college student, but little did you know she has Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (VEDS). VEDS is a very rare condition and Isabella is the only person to have this type in El Paso, as far as she knows. The vascular type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is the most serious form. It’s a connective tissue disorder, so the connective tissue that her body produces is defective. It makes her skin, other organs, veins, and arteries fragile. Isabella bruises easily and her skin tears like paper. She can have major organ ruptures and can get aneurysms and artery dissections without any major trauma. There is no cure for VEDS, but there are people currently researching about it.

She is sweet, uplifting, and was very welcoming to let me know a little bit about her. Isabella continued her Saturday morning buying homemade gifts and local foods for her family. I wouldn’t say Isabella is an odd person, but in fact an inspiring one.