I remember the moment when I was told I had lymphoedema. A condition that would require me to live with severe limitations for the rest of my life. It felt like my whole world had been thrown into a blender and all my hopes and dreams would never be realised.
At first, I tried to remain positive, I read up about ways to manage my condition and tried to follow every piece of advice I could find. I even tried to reach out and share my story with others in the same situation. Yet, no matter how much I tried, the limitations imposed on me by my condition dragged me further and further down.
The struggles of living with lymphoedema took their toll. My mental health suffered, and I felt completely isolated and alone. I stopped going out, stopped socialising, stopped doing anything that might require me to expose my condition. I was living in a prison of my own making, with no escape in sight.
My condition kept worsening, and I felt powerless to do anything about it. I felt helpless and completely overwhelmed by the despair I was feeling. I felt like a pit of darkness was slowly consuming me. In the end, my lymphoedema was too much for me to bear and I was left with no other option than to accept that I would never know the freedom of living without it.