Cade’s winning submission to the Rare Rainbow Showcase is a deeply personal, multi-layered reflection on chronic illness, gender identity, and visibility-both internal and external.

Through a vibrant and expressive comic-style format, Cade invites us into their lived experience navigating multiple rare and chronic conditions, including POTS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, fibromyalgia, and scoliosis. Each color and panel carries intentional weight, representing diagnosis ribbons, misunderstood symptoms, and the lifelong process of learning to advocate for oneself in systems that often fail to see beyond the surface.

The piece is an unflinching yet tender response to the skepticism and dismissal Cade has faced-capturing what it feels like to be told you’re “too young,” “too healthy-looking,” or simply “faking it.” From a tiny brain in the corner representing mental fatigue, to sunflowers honoring invisible disability, every detail tells a story of survival, frustration, humor, and hard-won pride.

In the second half of the submission—a comic originally created for Women’s History Month-Cade explores the complicated evolution of gender identity and the cultural trope of being “not like other girls.” What begins as a reflection on internalized messages unfolds into a realization that’s both powerful and poetic: “Technically, I didn’t end up like other girls… because I’m not a girl anymore.” That final panel reframes the entire narrative, offering a quiet moment of clarity and self-acceptance.

With vulnerability, wit, and raw honesty, Cade’s art exemplifies what it means to be Rare and Radiant. It challenges assumptions, embraces nuance, and reminds us that the act of telling your story-on your own terms—is itself a form of healing.