An apprentice solicitor with a rare hereditary condition which means she risks dislocating her joints when opening a door or putting on a jumper has said her dreams of a legal career are “real again” thanks to her “cheeky” assistance dog. After suffering debilitating pain and frequent dislocations throughout her teens, Jemima Banks, 23, was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) in 2018 – a condition which affects connective tissue, causing hypermobility and loose, unstable joints which dislocate easily.
Despite persevering to achieve her A-levels from home in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Jemima was unable to attend university, where she needed help from her mother, civil servant Philippa Banks, 57, to do even basic tasks like having a shower. Determined not to let her illness hold her back, Jemima found part-time work as a junior paralegal in 2018 but was still “terrified” to head into her office safely – until October last year, when the charity Dogs for Good paired her with her black Labrador-Retriever Albert.
Now enjoying a thriving work and social life with Albert by her side, Jemima, who lives with her mother, said: “I don’t feel terrified to go out now. If I drop my keys, I know Albert will pick them up and I won’t pass out in the road due to my body not being able to regulate my blood pressure.
“Or if I take my jumper off, Albert will help me without dislocating my shoulder. He has relieved so much worry and anxiety and brings so much joy every day.”
Jemima added: “If I didn’t have Albert, I wouldn’t be able to do this job and be the person I am now. Having Albert has made my dreams real again.”
Jemima first started experiencing symptoms of EDS at a very young age. She said: “I would complain of tummy pains from the age of four, which was my digestive system not working how it should.
“I was always getting injured and falling over but I was just seen as this clumsy person, who always ended up on crutches – but that was actually my hypermobile joints not being able to support my body.”
Then, in 2015, when she was 16, Jemima developed glandular fever and the symptoms of EDS became even worse. She said: “The amount of pain I was in on a daily basis, I couldn’t do normal activities like my homework or even just getting up and getting dressed, I was just in too much pain and so fatigued.
“I was so dizzy and, if I ever tried to stand up, my body didn’t keep blood going to my brain and I would faint.”
Jemima’s pain was becoming unbearable. “It was consuming,” she said. “It was like my body was on fire. All I can do is rest or use heat packs/ice packs and anti-migraine medication because opioid painkillers are seen as too addictive.”
While specialists tried to diagnose Jemima, she persevered with her A-levels. She said: “I missed so much school and was rarely able to attend in person, so teachers would email me lessons or my sisters would bring back work for me.
“It was really hard work and it got to the point where people just didn’t invite me to parties anymore because I was never there.”
After completing her A-levels the same year she was diagnosed with EDS, Jemima realised university was not an option. “I couldn’t move away from home because I was dependent on my mum caring for me,” she said. “It was crushing, knowing I couldn’t fulfil my dreams.”
Undeterred from her goal of becoming a solicitor, Jemima looked for other options and found part-time work as a junior paralegal. She said: “It was amazing experience but I could only work from home because I couldn’t get to the office independently, unless my sister travelled with me, which made me feel nannied.
“Even opening a heavy door at work or dropping something and trying to pick it up could end in me fainting or dislocating something.”
Jemima started to consider new options to help her manage the condition. “One of my school friend’s mums had an assistant dog and she really encouraged me to think about the independence they would give me and mean I don’t have to feel as reliant on my mum,” she said.
Signed up to the Dogs for Good waiting list, in August 2021, a furry friend arrived at her office. She said: “My dogs instructor played a trick on me and said she had a dog and was in the area and could say hello.
“What I didn’t know is I had actually already been matched with Albert.”
Jemima added: “I was hesitant at first because Albert wasn’t what I had envisaged – I had pictured having a golden Lab who was a girl – but it was so rewarding earning his affection. He looks like an enormous black dog but he is the biggest softie in the world and absolutely gorgeous.”
By October that year, Jemima and Albert were officially partnered together – and the difference has been life-changing. Jemima said: “He will help me take my coat off so I don’t dislocate anything and he’ll pick up anything if I drop it and keeps me safe.
“Instead of my mum texting me ‘Are you conscious?’ and ‘Are your joints in place?’, she asks ‘How is Albert? How has he helped you today?’
“He is always doing something silly and making me laugh, prancing around like a pony too.”
Albert was there for Jemima as she started a new job this month as an apprentice solicitor with law firm Gowling WLG. She said: “He relieved so much worry and anxiety and it means I can go into the office or go out and meet up with friends. It’s like I’m a person again.”
Jemima is even sharing her experience with the new podcast Paws To Talk, launched by pet insurer More Than and Dogs for Good, who have teamed up with ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly.
“It was so lovely speaking to Lorraine,” she said. “I was definitely nervous about it beforehand but she is the nicest person in the world and talking about Albert is the easiest thing to do.
“I’m keen to show that, even with a disability, you can still do the things you want to do, with some small changes.”
