Meagan's Lymphedema Surgery
Donation protected
Most of you do not know that I am suffering from incurable Lymphedema. During puberty, the lymph nodes in my leg did not grow, therefore they are not large enough to process the fluid throughout the rest of my body and it remains trapped in my leg. This results in extreme swelling in my right leg of up to three liters of excess fluid.
Lymphedema not only causes swelling it’s also extremely painful. My joints ache all the time from the added pressure. My skin is so sensitive to touch that I need to wear wide leg jeans so that my pants not only fit around my swollen leg, but also so that the seams do not rest up against it.
Having lymphedema has negatively affected my life in a number of ways. When I first received my diagnosis, I went into a severe state of depression. I felt like I was a less of a person for having lymphedema and that I would never live the life I’ve always wanted. I believed, that I belong in the circus.
My lymphedema is exhausting. Day to day activities, including work and walking, are obstacles for me -- particularly without the right compression and foot wear to go with it. I have to have compression on my leg at all times during the day or the swelling continues to get worse. My day starts with putting on my thigh high compression garment that I wear throughout the work day. Immediately upon my return home, I use a pneumatic compression pump for an hour that manually massages and moves swelling throughout my body. After using the pump, I have to wrap my leg in foam and ace compression bandages that I then wear for the remainder of the day. This cycle repeats itself each and every day.
Health insurance companies will not cover the cost of most treatments for lymphedema and, most importantly, will not cover the cost of surgery. To insurance companies, my condition is cosmetic and is looked at no differently than having unnecessary plastic surgery. In reality, having lymphedema is anything but cosmetic.
Each day my condition continues to get worse, and each day that I do not have this surgery, I become less of a candidate for it. I cannot do this on my own so I am finally opening up about my life and telling you all for the first time that I suffer from lymphedema. I am asking for your help to get my life back. One that does not revolve around compression garments, foam wraps and a pneumatic pump. A life that allows me to be healthy and a life that allows me to have opportunities and possibilities that this condition currently refuses to let me have.
Learn more about me and watch video at LimitlessLymphie.com
Lymphedema not only causes swelling it’s also extremely painful. My joints ache all the time from the added pressure. My skin is so sensitive to touch that I need to wear wide leg jeans so that my pants not only fit around my swollen leg, but also so that the seams do not rest up against it.
Having lymphedema has negatively affected my life in a number of ways. When I first received my diagnosis, I went into a severe state of depression. I felt like I was a less of a person for having lymphedema and that I would never live the life I’ve always wanted. I believed, that I belong in the circus.
My lymphedema is exhausting. Day to day activities, including work and walking, are obstacles for me -- particularly without the right compression and foot wear to go with it. I have to have compression on my leg at all times during the day or the swelling continues to get worse. My day starts with putting on my thigh high compression garment that I wear throughout the work day. Immediately upon my return home, I use a pneumatic compression pump for an hour that manually massages and moves swelling throughout my body. After using the pump, I have to wrap my leg in foam and ace compression bandages that I then wear for the remainder of the day. This cycle repeats itself each and every day.
Health insurance companies will not cover the cost of most treatments for lymphedema and, most importantly, will not cover the cost of surgery. To insurance companies, my condition is cosmetic and is looked at no differently than having unnecessary plastic surgery. In reality, having lymphedema is anything but cosmetic.
Each day my condition continues to get worse, and each day that I do not have this surgery, I become less of a candidate for it. I cannot do this on my own so I am finally opening up about my life and telling you all for the first time that I suffer from lymphedema. I am asking for your help to get my life back. One that does not revolve around compression garments, foam wraps and a pneumatic pump. A life that allows me to be healthy and a life that allows me to have opportunities and possibilities that this condition currently refuses to let me have.
Learn more about me and watch video at LimitlessLymphie.com
Organizer
Meagan Barnard
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN