My Giant 150lb Leg. Janice Greene

Swollen leg Lady and My Giant 150 pound leg (Barcroft  productions)


My name is Raymond Greene and I am Janice Greene’s husband and caregiver. We have been married for 11 years and live in Jackson Georgia. I met Janice and fell in love with her. I never questioned myself because of her lymphatic disease (stage 3 Lymphedema).  We just clicked and have been together ever since. I would do anything and everything as she would for me. I learned about Lymphedema over many years. When Janice got to the point where she could no longer drive because she could not fit under the steering wheel in a full-size car, it was time to do something! Janice was very stubborn about letting me help her in any way, but when she fell and hurt her back and I had to call an ambulance to bring her to the hospital. I had to inform 911 dispatcher her weight was over 550 pounds and please make sure the have the capacity to handle her they said they could, well that did not work out, they called a private service to bring her to the hospital. What was so bad is Janice thought she would be ok. 6 hours before I called 911 she laid on the floor and would not let me do anything. She had strained her back muscles and it took some time heal but she was ok. At that point I decided it was time for some help. I talked her into going to a Lighthouse Lymphedema meeting that was 1.5 hours from our house. We went and were so happy to find others caring enough to help and give a direction to go. We met a therapist from Northside hospital in Cumming Ga at the meeting and she was willing to take on Janice. We ended up going up to her 75 miles from home and almost 2.5 hours in Atlanta traffic. We then were able to set up 5 visits in 1 week of therapy which solely consisted of instructing me how to apply the multi-layer compression bandaging from toes up to the hip which takes 1.5 hours to apply. We stayed in Cumming Georgia for 5 day and nights at a hotel. After returning home for 2.5 months every other day We multi- layered bandaging her whole leg. By month 1 we were ready to kill each other. It was very stressful, and it was extremely uncomfortable for Janice. It would rub and cut her, and it was the middle of summer and very hot and by that time received a statement from Medicare and how much was paid, she had an absolute fit. I started working more and Janice gave up and refused for me to bandage her anymore, so we stopped, she was reduced from 76 inches to 56 inches (measuring around the largest lobe horizontality) and with no compression garments she swelled right back up in no time. She was depressed, and her diabetes was out of control and she was miserable. for the next few years we learned more about Lymphedema and all the options. After seeing a few Doctors and realizing they had no clue how to treat her we were given the name of Kenneth E Harper MD in Macon Georgia. With the caring staff and his knowledge of Lymphedema, we continued to see him, and he recommended she investigate an out of state treatment program. After looking into the program, we could not make it happen. Dr. Harper also had a specialist with 40+ years working with Lymphedema patient come to his office and see and examine Janice. The Doctor’s recommendation was to go to India and have it cut off.   We then met Robyn Bjork from Sigvaris USA. She was able to have 3 custom made Garments donated to Janice from by Sigvaris USA, Peachtree City Georgia from Scot Dubé. Big Blessing over the next few months starting 7/14/2017 to 9/22/2017 Janice had a reduction in weight from 554lbs to 443lbs (111lbs) We have been trying very hard to get Janice into CDT at Piedmont hospital in midtown Atlanta Georgia. Due to costs and transport issues we have delayed treatment for a long time. We can now can start the Lymphedema CDT treatment. I work 3 part-time jobs and have a flexible schedule now. I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia and had  hernia surgery in the past months and have a little more control over my issues. We purchased at a Government auction a Handicap transit bus with a lift, but due to our budget   it sits in our driveway. We also purchased from a Government auction heavy-duty patient lift for use in the home. We now need help in raising funds to get her to treatment and to help fund the overwhelming cost associated with care. Thank you for your support and to help Janice have better Quality of life.