About the Author Carrie Durso
Carrie Durso is a current student at The University of Texas at Austin from Friendswood Texas. She is passionate about Rare Disease/chronic illness awareness and helping others. Carrie was diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome at 14 years old. Since getting diagnosed, Carrie was frustrated by the lack of children’s literature that showcased her lived experience of growing up with a chronic illness. Carrie made it her focus is to create educational resources that promote empathy and inclusivity for children facing health challenges.
Why the zebra?
The Zebra is a common symbol for a rare disease or diagnosis in medicine. This symbol came from the old saying when training doctors that “when you hear hooves expect a horse, not a zebra.” Doctors were trained to look for the more common cause instead of a rare one. Zebras have now become a symbol for the rare disease community around the world. I hope that this book makes all the little zebras feel seen and not alone on their medical journey.