Artist's long stuggle with illness is her inspiration

Artist Marisol Diaz-Gordon, former photo editor of The Riverdale Press, has been fighting headaches and migraines for years. Running in and out of ERs and getting misdiagnosed with anxiety or Multiple Sclerosis, and eventually being diagnosed a year ago with Functional Neurological Disorder, or FND.

“The brain is intact, and there’s nothing wrong with the brain like a computer. The hardware is fine, but the computer is glitching,” Diaz-Gordon explained.

Procedures like MRIs, X-rays, and CT scans all kept coming back clean, “which was great to hear on one end, but very frustrating on the other,” she said.

Her neurologist finally figured out that she had Functional Neurological Disorder. After six years of fighting symptoms of FND, finally having an answer gave her a sense of relief.

She decided to do a deep dive into researching the disorder and found a doctor who specializes in it to understand it and figure out how to live with it.

“I have symptoms that look like seizures three times a day,” she expressed, “but they’re functional seizures.”
FND affects the function of anything that the brain can control and can cause paralysis from anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.

“I couldn’t communicate with my legs,” she explained. “I knew they were there, but I couldn’t feel my legs. My hands would lock in, and my face might seem frozen. I can see everything I comprehend, but my body is being taken over by another driver that’s not me.”

Diaz-Gordon decided to dedicate her most recent art exhibit to the history of FND and her own journey in coming to terms with the disorder and how she copes with the triggers.

The exhibit, FND Warriors, is currently on display at The Gallery of Artful Medicine at the Montefiore Einstein Hutchinson Metro Center. The exhibit is a representation of Diaz-Gordon’s own battle with the disorder and the many others that have been misdiagnosed.

Her artistic vision is displayed through a combination of printmaking and photography. In printmaking, she introduces the audience to early symbols of healing through depictions of the goddess Sekhmet and the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates. Using photography she shows how trapped she feels in her body by showing herself trapped under a blanket while another photograph shows a free dance.

The exhibit was made possible with help from her friends and family who have also added their own uplifting testimonial to the show.