Mortal And Strong - Voice No. 50 - Liz M (founder Dr Liz)

Introducing Voice No. 50 as we hit the halfway point through Season 1 of the Scars of Gold health campaign. At the half way point we share the founder of Mortal And Strong - Dr Liz Murray - and her story. Liz's chronic health issues began at the age of 18 when, just as Liz began University to study Medicine, on the road to becoming a doctor, Liz lost the ability to walk and found herself in a wheelchair by the age of 19. Liz shares the classic decade-long tale of having random symptoms and medical problems overlooked or dismissed, despite needing a very rare surgery on both her hips and a year long process to learn to walk again, before eventually getting her diagnosis. Liz was eventually diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions include Lupus SLE and Stage 4 Endometriosis with significant bowel and bladder damage and diabetes inspidus, following a 3 year process of having 6 miscarriages and multiple surgeries. When Liz was finally diagnosed and fell pregnant, further inequalities in health led to a premature traumatic delivery of her son which resulted in her first experience of mental health - facing PTSD and Postnatal Depression. It was whilst recovering from this with a severely unwell premature baby, facing the stigma from society whilst experiencing PND, that Liz began to formulate an idea of using art to share messages of hope and strength, which 5 years later would become the charity and campaign that is Mortal And Strong/Scars of Gold.

Liz returned to work as a Dr for the pandemic, having worked for over a decade as a medical doctor, predominantly in Emergency Medicine. However Liz had to step back from her clinical-facing role in 2023 because of her incurable health conditions. Her autoimmune conditions are incurable, the endometriosis means she has no function of her bowel and bladder, was forced into menopause at 34, and faces a very uncertain future of reduced mobility, chronic pain, kidney damage and multiple organ dysfunction. Her autoimmune conditions leave her immunocompromised, losing the vision in one eye and hearing in one ear. However despite all this, Liz is a fierce advocate for not letting a diagnosis define you - for embracing life to the fullest and not letting the stigma of disease and prejudice of society hold you back from living an authentic life. Liz strongly advocates for awareness and education of the impact of chronic health conditions whilst now leading the charity Mortal And Strong, turning her own journey personally and professionally into something that can help others.

For more information visit our website www.mortalandstrong.com

Mortal And Strong is a UK registered charity (1209448) presenting its debut health awareness campaign Scars of Gold. Founded by Dr Liz Murray, photographer Sammy Weston.

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