{"id":5663,"date":"2015-05-02T13:16:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-02T12:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/verityholloway.com\/?p=5663"},"modified":"2015-05-02T13:16:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-02T12:16:14","slug":"hospitalglam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verityholloway.com\/?p=5663","title":{"rendered":"#HospitalGlam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello again. Remember me?<\/p>\n

I haven’t blogged properly for a while, partly because I’m wrapped up in\u00a0The Mighty Healer<\/em>, and partly because the boyfriend and I have both been varying shades of ill, ill, ill, for several months. Nothing sucks up time like hospital visits and bedrest.<\/p>\n

Here in the UK, the general election is about to topple onto our heads.\u00a0That means blanket coverage\u00a0of men in bad suits shouting at each other about the NHS, not because they care that it’s circling the drain, but because winning debates is more fun than losing them. After a while, all the chatter ceases to sound like real life and enters Pink Floyd video territory, particularly when Cameron gets a bit sweaty and you sit there hoping his rubber mask will slither\u00a0off to reveal the circuitry within.<\/p>\n

So I want to share something fun.<\/p>\n

Karolyn Gehrig<\/a> is a queer disabled artist from Los Angeles. Like me, she has a connective tissue disorder and spends a lot of time traipsing in and out of hospital. To pick herself up, Karolyn started taking selfies in a medical setting, tagging them #HospitalGlam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They’re gorgeous.<\/p>\n

\"hospitalglam\"\"hospitalglam4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI started posting #hospitalglam because it was frustrating to me that every time I got sicker I\u2019d disappear from my commitments and then feel shy about explaining where I\u2019d been when I knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing treatment for my disabling chronic illnesses.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The idea struck a chord. With the success of the #HospitalGlam<\/a> hashtag on Twitter, Karolyn set up a Tumblr<\/a>\u00a0for fellow\u00a0patients to submit their own selfies, giving them something to do in those doldrum waiting rooms, and winning back a bit of self-esteem at the same time. Any gender, any illness, artistic or silly, made-up or fed up.<\/p>\n\n\t\t