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This episode features Amy Rivera, who shares her remarkable journey with primary lymphedema – a rare disease she was born with that caused her right leg to grow 200% larger than her left. Amy recounts her decades-long struggle without a proper diagnosis, the pivotal moment when she finally discovered what she had in 2013, and how she transformed her pain into purpose by creating multiple businesses and a non-profit to serve the lymphedema community globally.
This episode is ideal for listeners facing health challenges, entrepreneurs looking to build purpose-driven businesses, and healthcare professionals wanting to better understand lymphedema from a patient perspective. Listeners will learn about lymphedema’s physical and emotional impacts, the importance of self-advocacy in healthcare, and how to transform personal struggles into meaningful work. The insights Amy shares about resilience, business-building, and creating community around a medical condition can inspire anyone to find purpose in their pain and take actionable steps toward both personal healing and helping others.
00:00 – 00:47 Introduction
00:47 – 04:27 Amy’s Early Life and Diagnosis
04:27 – 07:05 The Journey to Diagnosis
07:05 – 10:20 Getting an Official Diagnosis
10:20 – 13:17 Emotional Response to Diagnosis
13:17 – 16:47 Finding Purpose in Pain
16:47 – 19:47 Understanding Lymphedema
19:47 – 23:55 Managing Lymphedema
23:55 – 26:28 Building a Support System
26:28 – 30:19 The Business Journey
30:19 – 35:15 Entrepreneurial Challenges
35:15 – 39:04 Self-Care as an Entrepreneur
39:04 – 42:08 Amy’s Business Ecosystem
42:08 – 46:56 Compression Innovations
46:56 – 52:33 Educational Programs
52:33 – 58:56 The Importance of Advocacy
58:56 – 01:03:39 The Ongoing Journey
01:03:39 – 01:07:35 Growth Through Vulnerability
01:07:35 – 01:10:50 Closing Thoughts
Content Notice
This podcast and all She Lift Project content represents the opinions of Cynthia Kirkpatrick and her guests. The content here is for informational purposes only, and should not be taken as professional advice – financial, legal, medical, or otherwise.
Views and opinions expressed in the podcast and across all She Lift Project media channels are our own and do not represent that of our places of work. While we make every effort to ensure that the information we are sharing is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.
“You gotta feed your own house first, your own four walls. And you can’t walk in, try to please everybody else. Cause you’re gonna walk out busy and broke.”
“I want my clients to feel comfortable. I want them to feel relaxed. And quite frankly, I don’t need to put on a suit to activate my brain, which is what you’re paying an attorney for.”
“I had shoved down that part of myself and that inner wisdom and intuition because I was so busy listening to, like, what the world wanted for me, what my family wanted for me, what success looked like that I couldn’t even hear my own voice anymore. And so it was coaching that really helped me rediscover that again. And for me, it was just totally transformative.”
“We outperform ourselves by 30% when we’re in a good mood… if you actually want to get more productivity, know what makes your people happy.”
“Joy and gratitude will transmute anything. So if somebody’s going through a healing journey, focus on your joy, what lights you up, that’s the thing that’s going to heal you. So lean into that.”
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