https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOVSUKYoxPs&t=146s

“Wellacopia Interview with Stephanie Tait (Part 2)”

Stephanie Tait is a disabled disability advocate with lyme disease. In the fourteen years it took her to get a diagnosis, she struggled with miscarriages, medical indifference and sexism, and the birth of her two sons. Her book, The View from Rock Bottom, is a tale of her struggles with chronic illness along with messages about faith, pain, suffering, joy, and hope. In this episode, part 2 of our intimate interview, Tait discusses her calls for change and the importance of centering the chronically ill in discussions about necessary changes to the medical community and healthcare system. For more visit:

➡️ visit https://www.stephanietaitwrites.com/

@stephanietaitwrites

Time stamps and bulleted notes

• 1.22 - Gender bias and chronic illness

• 8:98  - Call for a system that’s more holistic in which conversations with patients and symptom history are just as important as tests

• 9:34 - Problems with testing for Lyme disease - characteristics of the bacteria, reasons for false negatives

• 13:44  - Insight into doctors’ perspectives and limitations

• 20.03 - Mission of Wellacopia and “Care Fair”

• 22.08 - Hint at the upcoming podcast and the importance of bringing back one’s identity despite chronic illness

• 22:57 - The case for centering chronically ill and disabled people in conversations about healthcare access, the medicare for all debate, and quality of care

• 39:38 - The challenges of going outside the healthcare system and the predatory nature of quackery re: chronic illness

• 42:22 - The importance of communication and the challenge of finding a balance between ‘raising your voice’ and tone policing

• 51:41 - The importance of sharing stories as a humanizing tool

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