Lymphedema Certification
Donation protected
My mom, Andria Beusse, had to fight a very ugly battle against triple negative breast cancer. A co-worker told me to keep my faith, that God has a plan even if we can't understand why. She told me that there are lessons to be learned. This message frequently rattled in my brain as I watched my mom fight this ugly disease. One lesson that I have learned is that people are strong, stronger than even they can even imagine. My dad, for example, was an amazing caregiver. A second lesson was the generosity of people. So many family members, friends, and co-workers were there to support us. So, now what? What do I do with these lessons?
One of the biggest things that caused my mom pain and discomfort was the lymphedema she developed in her arm. It became even worse as the cancer grew and metastasized onto her skin. Receiving manual lymph drainage from her physical therapist provided some relief. As my mom's cancer progressed, she had to be placed on home health. She was no longer able to go to her PT for the massages because it was a duplication of services with the home health. The home health service had their own PTs but none of them were certified in the MLD massages. During trips to the hospital, we often found that the PTs were not certified and not only could they not do the massages, but they could not do the compression wrapping. As it came time to look into hospice, even hospice could not guarantee a PT with this certification. They agreed that they could contract out my mom's PT, but she would have to find a way to be transported to their office. At one point we met a PT with the certification through a friend of a friend of a friend who came to the house out of the goodness of her heart to massage my mom's arm. She would not take payment. She told us to pay it forward. Reflecting on this, I found my plan.
I would like to set up a scholarship for a physical therapist(s) to get his or her lympedema certification. Even though this can not help my mom's situation, it will provide me comfort to know that someone else does not have to go through this same struggle. My preference would be to provide this scholarship to a PT at the hospital my mom attended or the home health care service.
One of the biggest things that caused my mom pain and discomfort was the lymphedema she developed in her arm. It became even worse as the cancer grew and metastasized onto her skin. Receiving manual lymph drainage from her physical therapist provided some relief. As my mom's cancer progressed, she had to be placed on home health. She was no longer able to go to her PT for the massages because it was a duplication of services with the home health. The home health service had their own PTs but none of them were certified in the MLD massages. During trips to the hospital, we often found that the PTs were not certified and not only could they not do the massages, but they could not do the compression wrapping. As it came time to look into hospice, even hospice could not guarantee a PT with this certification. They agreed that they could contract out my mom's PT, but she would have to find a way to be transported to their office. At one point we met a PT with the certification through a friend of a friend of a friend who came to the house out of the goodness of her heart to massage my mom's arm. She would not take payment. She told us to pay it forward. Reflecting on this, I found my plan.
I would like to set up a scholarship for a physical therapist(s) to get his or her lympedema certification. Even though this can not help my mom's situation, it will provide me comfort to know that someone else does not have to go through this same struggle. My preference would be to provide this scholarship to a PT at the hospital my mom attended or the home health care service.
Organizer
Jamie Kelley
Organizer
Westmont, IL
