March is lymphedema awareness month, and few stories capture the seriousness of this condition, and the promise of recovery, better than our patient Judith Divvens’ journey. We are running a special segment in this week’s newsletter. It’s a cautionary tale and also one of hope.
A Story of Hope: Judith’s Road Back from Lymphedema
Judith Divvens is no stranger to medical procedures. She began racking up surgeries like a ball player does stats, starting in 2010. She has had her lower back vertebrae fused twice, two cervical surgeries, a rotator cuff repaired, surgery on her tailbone to ease nerve damage, and a knee replacement.
During those medical procedures, Judith began gaining weight and noticed her clothes getting tighter. The weight proved impossible to lose. She sought advice from her primary doctor, who prescribed multiple water pills. The swelling continued, and her legs and abdomen just kept getting larger.
After nearly six years on water pills, Judith collapsed one day while trying to walk from her bedroom to the bathroom. Paramedics later told her she was essentially dead when they arrived–no breathing, no pulse. The medical team had to defibrillate her three times to revive her. All the excess fluid had pushed into her lungs, and she essentially was drowning.
After a four-day hospital stay under the care of a cardiologist, much of the fluid came off. But days later, the swelling returned with a vengeance.
Doctors eventually determined that Judith was not retaining water but lymphatic fluid. Years of water pill therapy had impaired her kidneys and other organs. Judith, who is 5’10”, topped the scale at 260 pounds due to lymphedema. Because of poor circulation, the lymphatic fluid in her body could not be eliminated. She was diagnosed with stage one congestive heart failure and stage three renal disease.
“We didn’t even have a life; we couldn’t do anything fun,” Judith recalled. “I could just get out of bed and sit all day. I had to use a porta-potty next to my recliner chair and needed help doing that. My wonderful Marine veteran husband, my saint, used to have to roll me over like a log to get me to move around in bed.”
“Often, I went to sleep and tried to figure out how not to wake up. I went through depression. I couldn’t get on an airplane, see my family, or attend karaoke, which I love.”
The turning point came when a woman at Judith’s senior living center told her and her husband about Medical Vein Clinic.
During her consultation with one of the clinic’s vein and lymphatic specialists, it was determined that before any vein treatment could begin, she first needed to reduce the fluid in her body. The team referred Judith to a trained massage therapist who taught her how to wrap her legs from the upper thighs down to her toes to help move the excess fluid through her body. She also received therapeutic massage and began wearing compression pantyhose daily.
After losing about 20 pounds of fluid, a Medical Vein Clinic physician used advanced ultrasound equipment to pinpoint the veins that were not functioning properly. Judith underwent three minimally-invasive outpatient treatments over the course of a month to close the damaged veins and reroute blood flow to healthier ones. Our doctors advised her that it could be eight months to a year or more before the new veins take over and her overall circulation improves. “Lo and behold,” Judith said, “about a year and a half later, I woke up and my legs just really wanted to walk.”
Today, her life looks very different. Judith has gone from 260 pounds to 200 pounds, and from wearing 5X clothing to a size 18.
“My memory has come back clearer, my circulation is now working, my kidneys have improved, and I can keep the weight off now. I have no more congestive heart failure,” she said. “After my body had the chance to release all the poisons, I can now go to the gym, swim, and walk again.”
Now in her seventh decade, Judith is paying it forward. She helped lead a successful legislative initiative that got Medicare and other insurance providers to recognize lymphedema and cover the costs of treatment supplies. Before that change, many patients had to pay out of pocket for the costly materials required for leg wrapping. Those who couldn’t afford it, had no choice but to continue to suffer with impaired health due to the condition.
Today, she encourages others struggling with lymphedema by sharing her before-and-after photos and the story of her recovery. We salute Judith for her hard work and determination in overcoming lymphedema. She’s an inspiration to the many others who suffer from this condition!
To find out more about lymphedema, call us at 210-622-8000 or email info@medicalveinclinic.com to schedule an evaluation and consultation.
Healthy Legs Take You Further™