August 2014 Journaling Challenge

Papers and elements from the kit Land of Odds by Lynne Marie.

Button from the kit Buttons CU by Dani Salles.

Stamps frame is homemade.

"If I were to say, 'God, why me?,' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?,' about the good things that happened in my life." Arthur Ashe

Lipedema is a childhood disease that progresses throughout adulthood. It is a chronic disorder of adipose tissue generally affecting the legs, which causes the legs and sometimes the arms to accumulate fatty tissue. It is distinguishable by six characteristics:

1) It can be inherited.

2) It occurs almost exclusively in women.

3) It can occur in women of all sizes, from the seriously underweight to the morbidly obese.

4) It involves the excess deposit and expansion of fat cells in an unusual and particular pattern--bilateral, symmetrical and usually from the waist to a distinct line just above the ankles.

5) Unlike normal fat, lipedematous fat generally cannot be lost through diet and exercise.

6) A pathognomonic indicator of lipedema is that the feet are spared.

It is estimated that 1 in 11 women in the world have lipedema.