Dear Editor,
My husband Thomas passed away on June 18, 2007, from complications due to lymphedema. He was 43. In my husband Thomas’ memory, I want to open up a lymphedema clinic here in Johnson City and try to find a cure.
A friend and I want to do whatever it takes to help lymphedema patients get the treatment that they need. Patti Graybeal and her husband own and run Graybeal Orthopedic Appliances here in Johnson City. Patti went above and beyond to help him feel better.
I am attending ETSU and will be majoring in physical therapy and my undergraduate major is public health, where I will get a degree and will be able to educate the public and medical field about lymphedema. Thomas and I had talked about me learning the lymphatic manual drainage therapy and then I could open up my own business – at that time we had no idea that Thomas was going to die.
We thought he was having a breakthrough but instead things got worse. My dream is to find a cure for lymphedema and in the meantime, I am going to study as hard as I can, and I will become a physical therapist so that I can go on to become that lymphatic manual drainage therapist, get my certification there and open my husband’s lymphedema clinic.
Patti and I have a lymphedema support group every second Thursday of every month, we hold fundraisers to raise money for compression garments and bandaging and research so that a cure can one day be found.
My husband passed away because he wasn’t diagnosed when he should have been. His death could and should have been prevented.Lymphedema is swelling of a body part caused by an abnormal accumulation of fluid, proteins, and cellular waste in the tissues under the skin.
Patti and I held an interest meeting on Sept. 25 in The Cave at the Culp. Since I am an ETSU student, I thought it would be nice to have a student group where we could come up with ways to reach out to the lymphedema community and spread awareness.
We need five students to start this group, and it means the world to me. In my husband’s memory, I want to turn the tragedy of his death into a worthy cause and help those who have that same terrible disease that he had.
– Jennifer Hovatter

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