Dartmouth Senior Hannah McGehee
Art exhibit for Fibromyalgia Awareness Day 2015!
Dartmouth College Hannah McGehee Senior Fellowship Project explores lived experiences of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain and fatigue disorder, particularly in younger patients. "As someone who was diagnosed at a young age, I have experienced physical symptoms of fibromyalgia, but have also come to realize that the diagnosis causes much more than physical pain. The more I interview young fibromyalgia patients, the more I realize that I am not alone in these experiences. As such, I am motivated to educate healthcare providers, family, friends, and newly diagnosed patients about what it is like to live with fibromyalgia beyond what is generally explained in a medical setting. In addition, this project gives participants the opportunity to engage with their diagnosis in creative ways. Given that pain may be difficult to describe with words, what can be gained by communicating pain through creative means, from sculpture to poetry to collage? The final products of this project- narratives, creative works, and analysis- will be presented as an educational exhibit and as an interactive website beginning in Spring, 2015.
For more information about Hannah and her Senior Fellowship Project, please go to http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ugar/undergrad/srfellow/fellows.html.
