WHAT:
Photographer Rachael Jablo, 38, who in 2008 suffered a migraine that lasted four-and-a-half years, will share her personal struggle with migraine and discuss her photographs illustrating her experiences with UCLA medical students over lunch.
The debilitating disorder scrambled Jablo's thoughts, often interfering with her ability to speak. When she finally found a drug that helped, it produced an unfortunate side effect — forgetting words. She turned to photography to recapture the words she'd lost and chronicle her journey toward healing.?
Her images, "My Days of Losing Words," are currently on display at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and are published in a new book by Kehrer Verglag. The show is the latest in a series of exhibitions designed to raise future doctors' awareness of illness from the patient's perspective; the series is part of UCLA's innovative Doctoring curriculum, which uses art, actors and role-playing to train compassionate caregivers.?
Migraine afflicts more than 36 million Americans, including 3 million chronic sufferers like Jablo. Most isolate themselves in dark rooms, making migraine an invisible disease.?
WHO:
The following people are available for interviews:
Photographer and migraine sufferer
LuAnn Wilkerson
Senior associate dean of education at the Geffen School who helped pioneer the Doctoring curriculum
Acclaimed Los Angeles artist who curates the Geffen School's series of art exhibits
WHEN:
Noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27
WHERE:
UCLA Learning Resource Center
700 Westwood Blvd., at the southeast corner of Charles E. Young Dr.?
PARKING:
R.S.V.P. to media contact by 10 a.m. on Jan. 27 to arrange complimentary parking in Parking Structure 9.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Elaine Schmidt | [email protected] | 310-794-2272