Read about our oldest and youngest lymphoedema patients!
Bessie is 101 and David is 19, they are our oldest and youngest lymphoedema patients
The Moya Cole Hospice Lymphoedema Team
Bessie from Bolton is 101 years old and has Lymphoedema largely affecting her legs. David from Greater Manchester is 19 and has Lymphoedema largely affecting his lower legs. They are Moya Cole Hospice’s oldest and youngest Lymphoedema patients.
Lymphoedema is a long-term chronic condition causing swelling in the body’s tissue, usually developing in the arms and legs.
Moya Cole Hospice runs a Lymphoedema clinic which helps patients manage their symptoms. It’s a condition that can develop at any age due to an underlying condition.
Bessie has become less mobile as she has gotten older and struggles to get in and out of bed. Her heart failure, has likely lead to the occurrence of Lymphoedema.
“It has affected my life as it makes my legs so heavy. Walking is an issue and it makes it even more difficult to get in and out of bed,” Bessie said.
Bessie’s daughter Carolyn has praised the work of Moya Cole Hospice.
First of all, when we went there, mum’s legs were really bad. They helped treat the lymphoedema in the legs with bandages and they prescribed mum with different levels of compression stockings Carolyn, Bessie's Daughter
“They were wonderful. They were very patient, very kind, explained everything that they were doing, and gave mum lots of advice,” she added.
David developed Lymphoedema at a young age, when he was around seven or eight, his parents noticed swelling in his legs. They brought him to St George’s Hospital in London and was diagnosed with the condition.
According to David finding a paediatric facility when he was under the age of 18 was difficult, it was three hours in a car down to London when he was initially seeking treatment before he was sent to Derbyshire from his home in Manchester, still a distance of two hours.
It was only when he was 18, was he able to seek treatment and symptom management at Moya Cole Hospice in Little Hulton which is a short drive from his home.
Lymphoedema mainly affects David’s legs, with walking and running proving to be a a bit tricky but says it is something he is able to manage.
“Day to day it doesn’t affect me all that much, I’m able to manage it now. It is largely just a gathering of fluid in my foot,” David said.
“Moya Cole Hospice has helped me to manage my symptoms, one of the first things we did when I started attending my sessions there was bandaging. The fluid gathering in my foot was making it difficult to fit into any shoes and the team at Moya Cole Hospice were able to bring that fluid down so I could wear normal shoes again,” he added.
Bessie sadly died last weekend at the age of 101. May she rest in peace.