Mortal and Strong - Voice No. 96 - Charlie

Welcome back to another episode of Mortal and Strong The Podcast. Today, we are joined by the fantastic Charlie.

Charlie discusses her story of cardiac arrhythmia and cardiac syncope. Charlie's symptoms started during childhood, regularly passing out while playing games and doing exercise at school. She was repeatedly dismissed by doctors, with this cycle continuing throughout Charlies teen years and well into adulthood. Eventually after years of experiencing debilitating fatigue, exercise intolerance, extensive testing for other conditions, Charlie was finally diagnosed and treatment could at last begin.

Charlies story is sadly not uncommon, but a stark reminder of how medical gaslighting can be devastating to the patients experiencing it. Charlie recalls how she was told so many times that nothing was wrong and it was all in her head, that she began to question whether they were right. She was sent multiple times for psychiatric assessment, despite having a physical condition (that was undiagnosed).

Charlie talks openly, and honestly about her experiences, while offering insightful advice to encourage others to keep advocating for themselves. Despite all that Charlie has been through she remains hopeful, and dedicated to advocating for others in the cardiac sphere. Charlie is one of our fantastic artists for the Scars of Gold Campaign, as well as curator for Sudden Cardiac Art (in conjunction with our friends at HeartCharged) - a brilliant art show focusing on cardiac health.

A huge thank you to Charlie for coming and sharing her story with us, and being another excellent voice for the Scars of Gold campaign!

Scars of Gold is a health awareness campaign sharing the voices of 100 women facing their mortality at a young age with life changing or incurable health conditions. Produced by charity @mortalandstrong (No.1209448).

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