Woman, 33, With Rare Disease Dies, Doctor Diagnosed Mental-Health Problem

• A 33-year-old woman who claimed to have been misdiagnosed died this week.
• Stephanie Aston says doctors in New Zealand have dismissed her claims that she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
• A formal complaint regarding her care was inconclusive.

A New Zealand woman who accused the health system of ignoring a rare condition died this week at the age of 33.

Stephanie Aston passed away on September 1st. According to the charity she co-founded To raise awareness of her rare condition, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Aston has publicly battled Oakland health officials for misdiagnosing his illness as a mental health problem.

Doctors diagnosed her with “factitious disorder,” according to the details of her complaint to New Zealand’s watchdog. Factitious disorder is a serious mental health condition in which patients believe they are ill and cause physical symptoms.

Three specialists diagnosed her with Ehlers Danlothosis, according to the New Zealand Herald. Ehlers danlothosis is a group of genetic disorders that weaken the connective tissue responsible for supporting blood vessels, bones, skin and other organs.

The Herald reported that Aston died from the disease.

In a complaint to the New Zealand Health Disabilities Board in 2016, Aston said she believed her diagnosis of factitious disorder was affecting her care and treatment. Her complaint and its consequences The Herald reported at the time.

“I feel like my dignity has been taken away and my rights have been grossly violated,” she said.

The Herald reported that doctors backed the diagnosis in response to complaints.

The Herald reported that she said health care workers like Aston were prone to factitious disorder, and that her case did not seem to match Ehlers-Danlos’s.

Ms Aston disputed the doctor’s account, telling the Herald that he had too little to rate her.

The body that decided on Aston’s complaint failed to rule on whether she or the doctor was right, concluding that it was beyond its powers.

Another co-founder of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome New Zealand said in a tribute that Aston was “a lighthouse for many in our community”.

“Till the very end, she was eager to help and listen,” she said. “You will be very lonely.