Camille Racca
Medical student and president of the “DRAW YOUR FIGHT” association
Through the drawings that I exhibit, I try to make people understand the ailments of people and the repercussions of their disability in everyday life situations.
At 23, Camille Racca embodies determination in the face of adversity. A 6th year medical student and founder of the “DRAW YOUR FIGHT” association, she fights to make invisible disability visible, a cause she has known intimately since the age of 16.
Camille Racca's journey begins with her early discovery of the world of care and disability. With a recognized disability of 50 to 79%, Camille lives with chronic pain following a surgical operation undergone at the age of 16. As a teenager, she was confronted with wandering and medical violence, an experience which forged her desire to become a doctor to spare others the ordeals she endured. Despite the doubts expressed by some about the feasibility of pursuing medical studies with her disability, she brilliantly passed the medical studies competitive entry in the first year.
“Without accommodation I would not have been able to do my studies. The university offers essential accommodations, she emphasizes, with adapted schedules and exemption from guards.” But despite this, the choice of one's specialty remains a delicate equation between passion and constraints linked to disability: "I obtained a classification which allows me to choose the specialty I want wherever I want, but I know that in boarding school it It is difficult to obtain suitable accommodations. I am therefore forced to give up the specialties that I particularly like, such as internal medicine, in favor of others with more easily flexible schedules."
Drawing invisible pain
For several years, Camille has transcended her pain through her passion for drawing, which has become a refuge and a means of expression. She uses her talent to raise awareness, illustrate invisible ills and overcome prejudice. Four years ago, she launched the “Draw Your Fight” project to highlight the daily lives of those who live with invisible ailments. With an Instagram account exceeding 20,000 subscribers, she evolved her project, in 2022, into an association today bringing together more than 40 volunteers across France. Its objective: to raise awareness of invisible disabilities and support those affected and their caregivers. “People don’t realize the disability because it is invisible¸ she explains. Being able to draw it helps to break taboos by approaching it in a simple way."
The “DRAW YOUR FIGHT” association produces information booklets and mediation tools with health professionals. It organizes awareness campaigns on chronic pain or round tables co-hosted by caregivers and patients to free up speech. “We have already hosted 8 round tables this year in different hospitals. We have also developed talking circles and we collaborate with caregivers around therapeutic education in order to help patients better understand their illness, live with it better, and feel less alone. » The association also trains healthcare professionals in invisible disabilities so that they overcome prejudices and provide the best possible support to patients, particularly in their administrative procedures.
Illustration de Camille Racca
At the same time, Camille Racca created a traveling exhibition entitled “Les Reflections du Handicap Invisible” which transcribes, through illustrations, the testimonies of people with invisible disabilities. Launched in May 2023, the exhibition has already been installed in ten cities in France and in several companies. “Through the drawings that I exhibit I try to make people understand the ailments of people and the repercussions of their disability in everyday situations – studies, family, daily life... The aim is to share the reality on the ground for things to improve. We also try to make companies aware of the difficulties of professional integration of disabled people and the importance of putting in place accommodations for them,” she emphasizes.
Camille's commitment led her to participate in medical congresses, but also to speak at the Assembly. In 2024, she aims to create a conference on invisible illnesses by further integrating patients into medical debates. “Expert patients have this ability to provide knowledge of everyday life, treatments, the burden of the illness... which is valuable for other patients, but also for caregivers,” she explains.
The student also intervenes in different universities for awareness campaigns. “Some establishments don’t even have services dedicated to disability,” she laments. "In the world of higher education, it is rare to talk about disability. It should be remembered that only 4 out of 10 women with disabilities are working, and among them, only 7% occupy management positions or higher intellectual professions." For Camille Racca, universities therefore have a major role to play as springboards towards professional integration. “Raising awareness among those who will be future leaders, business managers, department heads, etc., means promoting better professional integration for people with disabilities in the future,” she defends.
Despite the difficulty of carrying out courses, internships, medical appointments and community work at the same time, Camille Racca opened up new horizons, thanks to her fight, by working alongside doctors, by meeting patients, by training in therapeutic education… “I had to create this association so that I could meet people like me with chronic pain. Today, with this project, I have a real feeling of usefulness which helps me on a daily basis to complete my studies and even to consider a thesis in science,” she concludes.