00:00Even before knowing what it was, I just knew that my legs didn't look normal.
00:04I normally wear, like, long dresses, stuff that don't cling to the legs.
00:09I had to learn to embrace it.
00:10Today is definitely a big day because I'm actually going to step out of my comfort zone times ten.
00:18Beautiful. You look awesome.
00:21Morning, my friend.
00:24This compression pump helps to stimulate my lymphatic system.
00:30Because of the lipolymphedema, the lymphatic system no longer drains,
00:36and that's what it's supposed to do as far as excrete fluids from the body.
00:41Now, this particular therapy, I do it every day, three times a day.
00:45So this is my first session for the morning, for 60 minutes each session.
00:49When I come over, usually we just get her organized on the pump
00:52because we know that's a big part of her day.
00:54And once she's on the pump, I just keep a close eye and just look out for any signs
00:58that she could be in any type of distress.
01:00Even before knowing what it was, I just knew that my legs didn't look normal,
01:06and I didn't want to have them out.
01:08I was always told to just exercise, which I did,
01:10and I never saw the results that I wanted, particularly in the legs.
01:16Why is it important to your life to do this therapy?
01:19It is very important to my life.
01:21It keeps the lymphedema under control to the point where I don't have to worry
01:27about too much water retention.
01:29After talking to the doctors and pictures and everything,
01:32I received a phone call from him personally stating that he needed me
01:37to go and see a vascular doctor.
01:39And I started to research what a vascular doctor was for,
01:43and I ended up coming across a lady's story.
01:46And I read her entire bio.
01:49And by the time I was at the end, I was in total tears because I was reading my life
01:56off of her story, and everything was so identical to what I was experiencing
02:01and didn't have answers to at the time.
02:04And now it was for me to let somebody know that, hey, I'm not just fat.
02:08I have a problem, and I'm sure that this is it.
02:12So it just went from there.
02:14This was a turning point in my life where I had to learn to accept that this is what
02:19it was going to be, and this is how I was going to be spending the rest of my life.
02:25There's no way I could disattach these legs and put on a new pair.
02:30I normally wear long dresses, stuff that don't cling to the leg.
02:35I normally do a lot of the palazzo pants.
02:38Again, comfort.
02:40You have the wide legs to worry about it clinging to the skin.
02:44All right, so today I'm heading over to my friend, Lisa, at her boutique at her essential
02:50store called Miss Ebony's, and I'm going to try on some of her new garments today that
02:56are going to be leg-revealing.
02:58So today I'm stepping out of my comfort zone.
03:01I need to do this in order for me to show that I am leveling up and becoming more comfortable
03:08with my lipolymphedema.
03:11In 2019, I decided I wanted to start spreading awareness because at this point I realized
03:17like a lot of people didn't know that this condition even existed.
03:24So I decided to create a platform where I would be able to share what this condition
03:29was.
03:30I mean, you see somebody there on the plus side, you just figure they're eating themself
03:33into an early grave, when in actuality it's actually something else.
03:37Hey, how are you?
03:39I'm good.
03:40Hi, Miss Ebony.
03:41Hey, babe.
03:42What brings you in today?
03:43Well, I got ready to do a photoshoot.
03:44You know your girl, always in front of the camera.
03:45So I'm looking for some nice stuff today because I really want to do this one.
03:52Good, good, good.
03:53Okay.
03:54Okay.
03:55You know I got you as always.
03:56Some pieces came in yesterday.
03:58What do you think about this?
04:02Look at that.
04:03Look at that.
04:05Beauty is the Beast was created off of the history of lipoedema as it pertains to myself
04:12and my mother.
04:13My mother, God rest her soul, passed away at the age of 31.
04:17It is now clear that she also had lipoedema by us looking back at pictures and other medical
04:23issues that she had growing up as a child.
04:27She was always told that she was just obese.
04:28I think it's safe to say at this point I inherited it from her.
04:32The logo is a picture of a lady with wings.
04:35The lady, of course, is myself and the wings represent my mother.
04:40It had to be used for something that would allow me to educate people and tell people
04:47you know how important it is to know your body, know yourself.
04:50Become a platform that went way further than I even imagined it could go and that's just
04:56in the space of what, two years?
04:59Beautiful.
05:00Beautiful.
05:01That's right.
05:02Beauty is the Beast has allowed me to open up a part of myself that allowed me to show
05:09my vulnerability to the world.
05:11I need to be able to own that I'm the lady with the legs.
05:27I've been one of her main photographers.
05:31Initially, she reached out to me about doing a photoshoot but she never told me what it
05:36was about and then she did her big reveal and I was like, wow, I didn't know this was
05:42happening.
05:43It's been my friend for so long and it's definitely, I'm glad that she was able to do this to
05:51put this out there as a message to everyone.
05:55I want to be that light, I want to be that torch, I want to be that energy, I want to
05:59be that push.
06:00I want to be that individual, that break down the walls that people, society, everybody
06:08has put up.
06:09I am so proud of a lot of things that Elyse has done because showing the world about her
06:13condition and showing her legs, I know that that takes a lot of courage.
06:17Of course, who doesn't want to have the cute bikini legs to go out there and show off?
06:21You know, I have the tree trunks but they're mine.
06:24It's exhilarating, it's nerve-wracking, it's excitement, it's fun, it's free.
06:32Especially for my legs, it's free.
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