Page 53 - ABILITY Magazine - Avril Lavigne Issue

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rammy-nominated singer/songwriter Avril Lavigne has sold more 35 million records worldwide. Her songs “Complicated” and “Girlfriend” rank among Billboard’s Hot
Lavigne: We did it in Canada, and four of the people out of the 30 I’m sponsoring will be participating in the Games in LA. There’ll also be a relay race there, and they’ll be playing my song for it. It’s pretty cool.
100 singles of the decade. Raised two hours east of Toronto, Canada, she signed a music deal at 17,
Martirosyan: That sounds great.
and recently launched the Avril Lavigne Foundation R.O.C.K.S. to promote Respect, Opportunity, Choices, Knowledge, and Strength in young people with serious
Lavigne: SO has great facilities and they do such amazing work; I’m really happy to be partnering with them.
illnesses or disabilities. ABILITY’s Lia Martirosyan caught up with her recently.
Martirosyan: I’m sure they feel the same way. You’ve faced some challenges of your own recently. Do you feel comfortable talking about when you got your diagnosis?
Lia Martirosyan: What motivated you to start a foundation?
Lavigne: It was a frustratingly long process, but the entire time I knew what I had. I went to emergency rooms, saw countless doctors, and specialists, and no one could tell me what it was, but I kept saying: “I know it’s Lyme.” And they were like, “No, people don’t get that.” Finally I saw a Lyme disease specialist, and got the right test done. It was such a relief to finally have an answer.
Avril Lavigne: Since the beginning of my career, the Make-A-Wish Foundation would
tell me there were people who wanted to meet me, so I would go to hospitals and see people
who were sick or had a disability. It was very moving, and made me want to start my own
foundation. I launched it in 2010. Every year, for my birthday, we have a fundrais- ing campaign. And last year, for my 30th,
Martirosyan: How are you now?
we raised money for 30 athletes to go to Special Olympics (SO).
Lavigne: I’m doing well. It’s been a long run. I’ve been in treatment for several months, and I’ve got a few more to go. Pretty soon I’ll make a 100 percent recovery, and it’ll be behind me. My doctor said that I’m getting over it a lot quicker than she thought I would. I’m really grateful, because I only had it for seven months before I got treatment. A lot of people have Lyme for years, and some have to get treated for years. My treatment will probably just be about nine months altogether.
Martirosyan: That’s exciting.
Lavigne: It is. I’ve done programs where I’ve partnered with Easter Seals
and sent a bunch of kids to camp. When I visited them, they were so
happy that I thought, “Oh, my God, I have to get involved!” Our latest,
greatest partnership is with SO, because we share a similar mis-
This experience has given me a lot of down time and perspective. I’ll come out of it much stronger and more knowledgeable. I’ve been able to continue projects, like releasing “Fly,” and working with SO. It’s something we’d planned more than a year ago, and it’s happening now, so it’s working out all right.
sion. I wrote the inspirational song, “Fly,” a couple of years ago for my foundation; it’s about lift-
ing people up, and telling them not to give up, no matter how
hard things get. On iTunes, all the proceeds from it now go
Martirosyan: Out of curiosity, what treatment are you on?
to SO. I also shot a video for it, and the athletes are the
Lavigne: The bug morphs into multiple organisms. You have to go on different antibiotics that kill the various forms, because it’s a smart bug that shifts. You can’t just be on one antibiotic; I’ve been on a few different ones on a plan that’s tailored specifically for me. People should always consult their doctor. My doctor actually had [the disease]; I think she’s probably the best out there.
stars. We’re in talks about me doing a performance at
the SO World Games in Los Angeles.
Martirosyan: That should be fun.
When I had my first test, it came back inconclusive, which typically means that there’s something there. There are different labs you want to use, and a lot of doctors are against them... Even if you’ve been tested, there are false positives and false negatives, so you need to see a doctor who specializes in Lyme and knows what they’re doing.
Lavigne: Yeah!
Martirosyan: Was the video with the
SO athletes shot in LA?
Martirosyan: How did you guess that that’s what you
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