Member Spotlight: Jennifer Bond Baker, composer, pianist

After decades of suffering pain, professional pianist and composer Jennifer Bond Baker was diagnosed in 2020 with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), specifically hEDS, which is a hypermobile—and the most common—form of the illness. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that mainly affects the elbows and knees as well as other joints, leaving victims prone to accidents and causing slow healing and joint pain.

Today God is using this illness to point others to Christ through Jennifer’s music and testimony. Her new CD, Take My Hand, was composed for “comfort and occupation,” she says. She dedicated it to “all who suffer with chronic illness or disability” and those who care for them.

Illness a ‘calling’?

Jennifer still remembers how offended she felt the day a friend called and asked her whether she felt God had given her a calling through her diagnosis with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

“I could not believe it. My friend was asking if I felt this unthinkable illness could be a calling from God to minister to others,” Jennifer says. “I was so offended initially. But after a while, I came to realize that, yes, perhaps God has allowed this illness in my life as a means to serve Him and tell others about Jesus.”

“I see countless doctors, therapists, and other medical personnel,” Jennifer says. “Many of them are not Christians, so I have been given an opportunity to witness to these men and women by both sharing the Lord with them and showing them that, though I am suffering greatly, I have a peace and a hope.”

Music for others’ benefit and God’s glory.

Just weeks after Jennifer received an explanation for her symptoms, COVID-19 hit the U.S. and the country locked down. Initially, Jennifer was glad. She could just stay home and rest, along with the rest of the world.

“I was so relieved to just get a break,” Jennifer says. “Now I did not have to try and make excuses or constantly explain why I could not do everything or go out all the time. I only worked two days a week, but even that was too much. I was so glad to be sent home and told to stay inside.”

However, after some time, the feelings of relief turned to feelings of gloom when Jennifer lay in bed day after day, grieved by the grim news reports on TV, feeling crummy herself, and having little to no social interaction.

“I started to feel swallowed in depression, and I asked God, ‘What’s next for me?’” Jennifer says.

“I realized, though, that God was providing so much for me. Many people I knew were unable to see their doctors during this time, but my doctor faithfully let me come in. Throughout the whole shutdown, I never missed a treatment or appointment.”

During this time Jennifer also regained enough strength to get back to the piano. She found herself using her talents to compose music as a way to quiet her heart during her physical and emotional trial.

It started by writing one piece, then two, then an entire album, Take My Hand, which she dedicated to “all sufferers of chronic illness and to those who keep them in life’s dance!”

The album is available at her website's shop.

“I caught a vision for an album that would give me and others joy in the midst of sorrow,” Jennifer says.

Now she has plans to compose a Christmas album and an album of hymns.

Growing up with questions.

It was not until 2020, at the age of 45, that Jennifer finally received answers to her many questions about the ailments and symptoms she had suffered for decades.

EDS is a genetic connective tissue disorder that Jennifer was born with, but nobody knew what was wrong with her, despite her countless trips to doctors, specialists, and any other resource she could find. Worse than not having answers for her symptoms, these doctors often made Jennifer feel crazy and like her illness was imagined.

As a child, Jennifer had a few more broken bones and seemed clumsier than the average child, but nonetheless she lived a fairly normal life. In high school, she noticed regular bouts of fatigue, but she was young, and she could always “get through it.”

Once she was in her 20s, she also began to experience periods of unexplained pain and relentless fatigue. Shortly after she gave birth to her two children two years apart, the illness began to take its toll.

“This illness is invisible,” Jennifer says. “On the outside, I looked like everyone else. But in actuality, I spent quite a lot of time in bed, could barely use my arms for anything, and had to stop picking up my children. Later, it would affect my foot to the degree that I could barely walk without assistance.”

“Time and time again, all my X-rays and scans came back normal. Doctors would tell me there was nothing wrong with me. I was misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia, arthritis, and more. And yet, I could hardly function,” Jennifer says.

“Typically, when you use your body in daily activities, you create micro tears in the tissue. You’ve experienced this when you’ve worked out too hard or long and feel sore muscles the next day. Someone with EDS will have far more tissue damage and require far more rest for that tissue to repair.”

A dream of the past.

Jennifer loved music and was once a pianist, playing for homeschool groups, churches, choirs, and other programs. But at one point, she could not even sit at the piano and move her fingers across the keys.

Her whole life was crumbling before her eyes. Thus began 20 years of searching for answers.

A glimmer of hope.

In 2019, Jennifer had ankle surgery, which further wrecked her body and left her in debilitating pain. She continued to question why all these things were happening. The last several years had been especially lonely years, as her children had graduated and left home, and the community around her and her husband had changed.

However, a providential encounter in January 2020 finally gave her a diagnosis and the validation that she was not crazy.

“It was after yet another painful, failed, physical therapy attempt that my observant naturopath said, “I think you may have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome,” Jennifer recalls.

It was soon confirmed by a specialist.

“My diagnosis came at age 45, which is an awfully long time to live with a genetic disorder and not know it,” Jennifer says.

She uses different therapies and takes a variety of oral remedies to reduce the pain.

“God has really answered prayer,” Jennifer says. “I’m walking now, something I haven’t been able to do freely for four years. I’m back to grocery shopping, something I stopped for two years. A change in my meds really helped, and, I believe, God has been gracious to answer the prayers of many saints.

“The difficult thing has been trying to determine what works and what doesn’t. That takes a lot of time.”

Ehlers-Danlos Society.

Jennifer is grateful for the Ehlers-Danlos Society, especially the resources she has found there and connections she has made. She hopes to use proceeds from her albums to support the society and other organizations like it.

Jennifer has been able to share her music with other believers for their own comfort and encouragement, and she hopes to connect with other EDS patients to share her music and her Lord with them, too.

How to pray for Jennifer.

• For endurance, perseverance, and more resources as she lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
• For strength as she continues to compose music for God’s glory.
• For further awareness of those suffering with EDS and with “invisible illness.”
• For opportunities for Jennifer to connect with other EDS patients and community in general.

Andie Dill is a Communications Specialist with Samaritan Ministries.

Sufferers of chronic illness need you to try to understand.