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I'm Ella Alshamahi and this is the conversation from the BBC World Service, the program that amplifies women's voices, which is really just a fancy way of saying we get two talented women from different countries who share an expertise, bring them together and see what happens.
Chronic illness and the pain it often brings affects millions globally.
But while women are more likely to experience chronic pain, they're less likely to receive adequate treatment.
Today I'm speaking to two women who have transformed their experiences with pain and chronic illness into powerful creative expressions.
Joining us in the studio is Polly Crosby, a British author living with cystic fibrosis.
Her upcoming young adult novel, the Vulpine draws from her own experiences and those with chronic conditions.
And Lavi Pickle is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Romania, now based in Canada.
She wants to make, in her words, the invisible symptoms of chronic illness visible.
Polly Lavi, welcome to you both.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Lavi, how has Lyme disease and lupus shaped your life?
So Lyme disease and lupus are two autoimmune diseases that can wreak havoc throughout your body because they can affect multiple like organs or they can create a lot of problems within your body and they have a lot of overlap, overlapping symptoms, which makes them very difficult to diagnose.
Um, in here in Canada, for example, the system, it's a bit faulty.
And for Lyme disease, let's say the two tier tests that most of the doctors are relying for are showing false negatives.
And while you are reassured by your doctor you do not have Lyme disease, the bacteria continues to wreak havoc within your body.
And most of the Lyme sufferers are.
It takes about at least one year and a half to two years and a half to get a diagnosis, a proper diagnosis.
I'm one, let's say one of the happy cases.