Confinement in Abandon

This series of film photographs is from my BA Portfolio, "But you don't look sick?". Lyme Disease is a commonly misdiagnosed and misunderstood illness by both doctors and the general public. For some, symptoms can last a few weeks, for others, a lifetime. It is nicknamed “the great imitator” due to symptoms presenting psychiatrically, physically, and neurologically. Chronic Lyme disease has impacted me nearly my entire life. After being diagnosed at the age of 12, I thought it would be a simple path to recovery. Instead, it was littered with roadblocks of misconceptions, judgements, and discrimination from not only my peers, but from adults, educators, and even my doctors. “But you don’t look sick?” was the common response I received when explaining how ill I felt. Having an invisible illness that is chronic is something I struggle to accept. Through my work, I hope to aid in visualizing the invisible in the physical realm. My work is about my personal physical, mental, and emotional experience with Chronic Lyme Disease and its early childhood impact. I aim to show the degradation of the body and how fleeting youth, health, and life can be.