Even the deepest recesses of underwater caverns can sustain life. Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with Cavernous Malformations: a rare disease that causes lesions in my brainstem that can hemorrhage, which happened for the third time in February of 2022. In adjusting after this most recent bleed, I found myself needing to think about survival in a different way. This work delves into the ocean to find creatures making their home deep below the surface. Adapted to survive in caverns, they find safety among the hollows and cavities beneath the intervening depths, a habitat that reflects the structures of the disease I am living with.

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Lexie.bouwsma@gmail.com