When Meagan Barnard started going through puberty, she developed lymphedema in her left leg. It’s hard enough for teenage girls and guys to go through puberty, but for Meagan, it was even worse. She was teased at school and given terrible nicknames like “Michelin Man,” so she did everything she could to hide her leg. Then, when Meagan was 24-years-old, her left leg swelled up to more than double the size of her right one. She refused to even show her leg to her boyfriend, who had no idea that she suffered from lymphedema. Then, something happened. After having felt unwell for several years, Meagan decided to “come out” with her lymphedema. And she’s even displayed her leg in a professional photoshoot.
Lymphedema refers to swelling that generally occurs in one of your arms or legs. It’s usually caused by the removal of, or damage to, the lymph nodes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
For Meagan Barnard, lymphedema came at age 15. She felt abnormal, lonely and suicidal, and refused to talk about it with her friends and family.
Instead, she hid her swollen leg in baggy clothes and refused to wear dresses or skirts for over a decade. She was teased and someone in her school even yelled: “I didn’t know that the Michelin Man went to school here.”
Meagan felt so bad that on one occasion, she wrote a suicide note to her dad—she just didn’t think she could handle it anymore.
Meagan’s left leg holds up to three liters of extra fluid, and once when she was 24-years-old, it swelled up to more than double the size of her right one.
When she got older, she started dating a guy named Robert Neidenfeuhr. According to NZ Herald, Meagan managed to hide the lymphoedema from her boyfriend for two years before eventually revealing it to the world in a photo shoot.
Robert insists he never noticed her swollen leg, not even during their most private moments. 👇🏻
Mr. Neidenfeuhr explained, “She was extremely careful, but I really didn’t notice. There were lots of closed doors, lots of lights off—that kind of thing.”
The condition means Meagan has up to three litres of excess fluid in her leg, prompting upsetting nicknames including “Michelin Man”. For many years, she concealed her leg with a pillow or loose clothes.
Until one day…
A few years ago, Meagan showed her legs for the first time in a decade. She decided to be open about her lymphedema in the hope that young girls who suffer from the same condition won’t have to deal with it in silence.
