Mahogany Geter spent years hiding her left leg under loose-fitting clothes for fear of stares, questions, and comments.
She was born with lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes fluid to build up and leads to severe swelling; in her case, her leg added around 45 kilos to her body weight. For a long time, she tried to keep people from looking at it too closely.
But everything changed in 2017, when a photographer approached her while she was working at a supermarket and offered to take some photos of her. She agreed, began posing with her leg on display, and gradually stopped seeing it as something she had to hide. Modeling not only opened up a new opportunity for her; it also restored a confidence she had lost over the years.
Today, she shares her photos and her story on social media to raise awareness of lymphedema and show that an illness does not have to decide how much of yourself you can show, how much you can dream, or how proud you can feel of who you are. ❤️