Shelly’s lipoedema journey

Hi everybody,
My mum and I are going to be doing a sponsored skydive on the 27th of October 2019, the reason for this is because my fiancé Shelly Friel has a condition called lipoedema.

Lipoedema is a long term condition where there is an abnormal build-up of fat cells in the legs, thighs, bum and arms. It can make the legs look columnar trunks or lumpy. Unlike normal fat accumulation fat areas resulting from lipoedema tend to be very tender if you apply pressure causing a lot of pain and bruising. Hormonal changes in the body can make lipoedema a lot worse, in many cases causing people to be unable to walk due to the pain and swelling and can end up in a wheelchair, for example Puberty, pregnancy and menopause can really affect this condition and in Shelly’s case she has noticed a big change since having our little boy Ollie. 

We are going to get surgery for Shelly in Germany next year, she has to have two surgeries because her legs arms and bum are affected she is currently stage 2. The first surgery is on the 12th of May 2020 and the second surgery 13th of August 2020, the cost will be just over £10,000.

There is only one specialist in Scotland who deals with lipoedema, he diagnosed Shelly with this condition, he advised her that she is not eligible for surgery and the moment, she would need to wait until she was stage 4 which means her legs, arms and bum would need to be extremely swollen and she would be nearly crippled. For Shelly’s mental and physical state we can not wait until her condition gets this bad and her pain is unbearable, it is already affecting her life in a big way, it affects her ability to do things example go on long walks, being on her legs all day at work or going to the gym and it really affects her confidence. So we are asking all of our friends and family to please sponsor us, every little helps.

I have attached pictures so you can all see the 4 different stages of lipoedema. Thank you all for reading Shelly’s story.

James and Jessie x