Keelie LeBlanc

Former D1 Athlete, Lipedema Advocate

I was always bothered by my legs, not only for what they looked like, but also for how heavy, swollen and bruised they always were. As a Division 1 volleyball player, I did a lot of weight lifting and training, but my symptoms never went away. Finally at age 24, through research because my symptoms were getting worse, I found the word lipedema. It seemed to match everything I'd been going through for nearly a decade. I brought that information to my doctor, who luckily knew about lipedema, and she diagnosed me after a physical exam.

I advocate for awareness of lipedema and compression because so many women across the world are impacted by this and spend decades not having answers to fully understand what's going on in their bodies. When compression can make such a major difference to a condition that causes so much pain, both physically and mentally, I want to shout it from the rooftops and help any woman I can.

There truly is community in this shared life experience, and we owe it to each other and every other woman out there who doesn't have an answer, yet, to hold out our hands and voices for them.

To ladies with lipedema, if there's only one change you can make today to start managing lipedema, it should be ordering a pair of compression and wearing them, even if only for a few hours at a time to start. Your legs will thank you.

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