Oral Histories

Interview of Megan LeGresley

Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. Lives with Lyme Disease and experiences chemical sensitivities. UCLA student. Advocate for people living with for Lyme Disease and chronic illnesses, and activist for raising awareness on Lyme Disease and chronic illness.
Series:
Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness
Topic:
Social Movements
Environmental Illness
Biographical Note:
Interviewed for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness series. Lives with Lyme Disease and experiences chemical sensitivities. UCLA student. Advocate for people living with for Lyme Disease and chronic illnesses, and activist for raising awareness on Lyme Disease and chronic illness.
Interviewer:
Apolloni, Alexandra
Interviewee:
LeGresley, Megan
Persons Present:
LeGresley and Apolloni
Place Conducted:
This interview was conducted at the UCLA Center for the Study of Women.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
This interview was conducted by Alexandra Apolloni, Research and Program Developer, UCLA Center for the Study of Women with a PhD in Ethnomusicology. Apolloni writes about the history of popular music, performance, gender, and culture.
Length:
.75 hrs
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Audio:
Series Statement:
Chemical Entanglements: Oral Histories of Environmental Illness is a collection of interviews with over seventy individuals living in the U.S. and Canada whose family history, occupation, art practice, or activism have brought them into direct contact with illness experience and disability related to chronic, low-dose exposure to toxicant chemicals. The procurement of this collection (from March 2019 through September 2020) was sponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of Women under the directorship of Rachel C. Lee, with interviews conducted by six undergraduates, five graduate students, two career staff, and two faculty members at CSW.
Family background--Memory of holiday smells and cleaning products used-- Recounting childhood health--First signs of illness--First contact with doctors--Recounting symptoms of entering high school building and passing out--Describes friends’ reactions to her illness--First diagnosis of Lyme disease in Seattle--Description of her interactions with medical professionals--Teammates as emotional support--Notable symptoms and health effects--Attending college and transitioning into UCLA--Resources on campus (UCLA)--Attending a clinic in Washington and receiving Lyme treatment--Life as a student--Illness affecting social life--Taking a year of school--Worried about brother’s health and going to Thailand for chemical detox treatment--Illness’s effect on work--Activist of Lyme and running a charity marathon--Shift of social awareness towards Lyme disease--Strategies dealing with medical professionals and navigating life with illness--Impact of gender on health experience and the gendered experience of being a patient--Hope for a recognition of environment destruction and a discussion around health issues due to macro level effects--Calls for an attention towards naturopathic and Chinese medicine