The Person in the Body
I can feel myself getting older and sicker as I get further into my twenties without a proper diagnosis. The 7-10 years it takes to diagnose Endometriosis is feeling more and more like my reality. I always thought that I could go to a doctor, be present and aware of my symptoms, and create change for myself. This was my first step into medicine, and where I learned that there are no systems to support people like me. Now I’m living in this liminal space with surface level answers, but no way to treat my daily suffering. I’m on year 4 of major symptoms, not counting the mystery discomfort that haunted my childhood. I leave each doctor’s office without answers, no progress made, waiting for someone to go beyond a verbal diagnosis. This is not a unique story, but it’s mine.
I create work about chronic illness for many different reasons. I made this photo story for the young girl I used to be, scared of her own body. I made this for every other person who can’t access healthcare, who is sick and tired, who is being betrayed by their body. I told this story in the only way I knew how so that people outside of this world can hear this story of disability, without it being censored, sterilized, and silenced.
