Theresa from Austin, Texas, has lipo-lymphedema which is both lymphedema and lipoedema. The condition causes fat cells to abnormally build up in her body which she only noticed when she was in second grade. She now lives with the condition with people's eyes constantly judging her.
Theresa shared with Truly, "People just assume that you're fat. They don't see it as a condition."
Seeing those comments prompted her to prove that her condition exists. One of her latest achievements was holding a swimsuit photoshoot that helps promote body positivity and awareness towards her condition.
"Not everybody is the same, and not everybody is meant to look the same," Theresa said.
She's taken the spotlight in the reality show 'Shake My Beauty' where she shares what it's like living her life and what she's trying to do now to change the standards.
She was born with the condition that her mom has. Theresa said, "When I was about in second grade I noticed that I started getting thighs. I started getting cellulite."
"I would feel this sharp pain in the back of my thighs, like an electrical feeling."
She's learned to co-exist with the condition and found ways to reduce the pain.
"It's very painful," she said.
"I'm using compression socks to help the swelling in my lipedema," she explained while showing how she struggles to put them on every day. "Without them, my legs feel really heavy."
As the weight eventually put the most burden on her legs, she has compression garments to help alleviate the "uncomfortable" feeling while going through her day.
"I have a pneumatic pump that I put on my legs that helps the fluid flow and I use that every night."
Despite struggling with pain due to her genetic condition, Theresa's appearance only garners even more negative comments from observers who judge her size.
"They think, 'Oh, she's fat.' They don't see it as a condition. They don't know what's going on. They think it's, 'Oh, she did that to herself. She ate her way into the condition.'"
"It's pretty annoying," she chuckled.
Modeling and photoshoots have been great to help her build up confidence as she learned to embrace herself.
"I really have a goal that I want to help change the beauty standards," she declared her dream. "Showing off my body as it is and letting everybody know that it's okay to have a disability and it's okay to be a bigger body."
She picked her swimsuits and her husband complimented her choices, "Oh yeah, that's gonna look good."
"There's always somebody that's going to find you attractive and that you can be sexy at any size," she convinces people.
Her professional photographer Arthur came with her to the beach as she showed off her figure. And she felt exactly like how she expected about the whole thing: confident.
"All the photos that I saw in his camera looked amazing. Completely what I was trying to portray."
"The photoshoot did make me feel very proud of my body. I felt very confident out there and not at one point did I feel like I wanted to hide."
Through sharing her story, she hopes that more women can have the confidence to "wear that two-piece."
"It's important to me to raise awareness for lipedema because I want women to know what they're going through and why their body looks the way it does and to get treatment sooner."
"Be proud of the body that you have, don't constantly try to change it and try to look like other people."
"Just own what you have and be confident and proud of who you are."
