Kathryn’s Story
Please join me in the fundraising effort for this organization, the Lymphatic Research Foundation who strives to find a cure for Lymphedema.
In 2004, when a suburban hit me in an intersection and spun me around, my knees hit the steering wheel hard. At the time, I didn’t have medical insurance; just the PIP insurance with your normal coverage of auto insurance policy. When it was discovered a month after the accident that my swelling in my legs was simply not going to go away, it was only a beginning to a journey of learning how to be an advocate for myself. The hospital granted me a grant for 10 treatments, but anyone who knows anything about lymphedema, 10 treatments is clearly not enough. I was left on my own to wrap my legs and utilize a small pump and try to get the swelling to go down on my own without any insurance coverage.
By the time that I gained health insurance in 2008 through my employer when transitioning from a full time relief employee to a full time permanent employee, my legs were getting out of control and I was beginning to develop some pressure wounds. After 3-6 months of physical therapy, aqua therapy, and transitioning from the ace looking compression bandages get up to the juxt-a-fit garments, and the approval of a flexitouch pump, I finally was able to have a better guide, control and understanding of what to do for maintaining my condition.
To this day, I still walk about with garments on both legs, although the right leg is far worse than the left, and tennis shoes that are way to big for me ordinarily (because of the wraps, I have to wear much larger shoes). I have some sights on a new garment that comes in black and cheaper than the ones that I presently have, however, are supposed to work even better. Hopefully, I won’t have the $500 annual garment purchase, plus the additional $100-200 I purchase each month in various specialized stockings that I have to wear with the garments. Keeping my fingers crossed. At least, if they are in black, they might be less noticeable. For the past 7 years, everyone seemed to look at me with strangely while I continued to wear these garments day in and day out for the past 7 years, going on 8.
During the past years, I have been a strong advocate, learning more and more how to speak up for myself and try to make sure that I have the latest in the developments to ensure that there is continued progress without any set backs. I’ve also promoted latest and greatest news on my Lymphedema in the News page on facebook and have become one of the admins in a patient’s only page (private) on facebook where we work to encourage and inspire one another.
In additon, I have had other lymphedema advocates come on my blogtalkradio show called, Beyond Words Live, to share updates about HR 4662 bill that is the national legislation concerning helping to defer the high costs of treatments towards the lymphedema patient. It is critical that there is attention to this bill because, if lymphedema is left untreated, it poses a much higher health risk — such as the awfully painful pressure wounds that can run deep past the fatty tissues underneath the skin layer, exposing it to the opportunity for more infections, etc.
My story is one of many stories. This is not lympoma or any form of cancer, although it can often result from having radiation treatments necessary to combat cancer. Many other folks have many other causes — some trauma situated causes like mine — many others have other situations that have occurred to where the lymph nodes were damaged in some other way; and, in some cases, too, there are some hereditary links to this long lasting condition.
I come to you today to ask that, even if you can only contribute $5, it is $5 more towards the research that can be done to find a cure. Thank you for reading my story and considering helping the cause. I look forward to being able to tell the foundation that I exceeded my goal in raising funds for the much needed research.
Thank you!!
Kathryn
Worldly Inquiring Mind "iWIM" :D 
