My sister has Lipedema and needs help! (Updates in Bold below)

Denise has a surgery date set!! The outpouring of kindness and thoughtfulness has been a bit overwhelming. Thank you all so much. Let's keep it going!

You may not realize it, but the procedure had to be paid for before it could be scheduled up, and I would love for the burden of this debt to be lifted from my sister before the surgery occurs. We have a little less than a month to make that happen! Any little bit you can contribute would be greatly appreciated. As our mom used to say, "Many hands make light work".

Denise has third stage Lipedema, a long-term degenerative disease of fat and connective tissue that builds up in the legs, hips, buttocks, and arms, and the only treatment is surgery.

The surgery is not covered by any insurance, including Medicare….it is considered “cosmetic surgery” by the medical community (!), even though it creates many physical impairments to life.

The surgery has to be done in stages, and the first surgery stage for Denise costs 28,000 dollars!

Denise became aware of Lipedema a few months ago, by accident, when she was scrolling through YouTube and saw a woman’s legs that look like hers in a video about Lipedema. “What is Lipedema,” she asked?

It explains so much!

Why after losing 100 pounds, her legs stayed big, why walking is difficult, why her legs feel so heavy, why exercise and diet never changes her legs, why her legs bruise so easily, why she has brain fog and memory loss, and fatigue.

This disease has caused my sister to give up on many things in life…

Denise has given up hiking, tennis, skiing, biking, golf, fishing, boating, going to museums or concerts, dating, standing for any length of time, unnecessary travel, standing to sculpt, selling at craft fairs, wearing shorts, dresses above ankle length, anything but wide leg pants…and the list goes on.

What is Lipedema?

For more, please visit the Lipedema Foundation website at https://www.lipedema.org/

Normal child legs / Already signs at 35 / Weight loss showed on upper body & face, but never legs / Sadly, now advanced lipedema

There is Help and Hope!

Unfortunately, surgery to decrease the impact of this debilitating disease is still considered cosmetic in this country and is not covered by any Medicare insurance. She found Dr. Jaime Schwartz at Total Lipedema Care who specializes in Lipedema removal surgery. Not all surgeons know how to manually remove the painful nodules (see pictures below).

From Denise:

“My goal is to pursue my dream of being a glass artist with a fully functioning hot shop. This work requires lots of standing and moving quickly from being seated to standing. I want to be able to participate more fully in my life, chase my grandkids and reclaim my mobility. To be able to walk without pain and heaviness in my legs would absolutely change my life. Finding this diagnosis has given me hope for a vibrant future that I previously didn’t know was possible.

Please consider helping me get my legs and life back and sharing this information with others that may be affected by this relatively common, yet little known disease.

Love, Denise”