Mahogany Geter, a 24-year-old aspiring model, was born with a rare condition that left her with a 100-lb leg. After a lifetime of facing difficulties, Geter’s life changed forever when she was offered a chance to model, starting her off on a journey of spreading the message of body positivity to others.
Bright Side found her story inspiring and a great example of how beauty can be found everywhere, and wanted to share Geter’s story of self-love with you.
She was born with a rare condition.
Mahogany Geter, a resident of Tennessee, was born with a rare condition that left her with a left leg that weighs 100 lb. The condition, known as lymphedema, can cause excess fluids to collect in the soft tissue of the body and lead to swelling. For Geter, her entire left side of the body is impacted by this, but only her leg is the most visible.
Geter was diagnosed with the condition right after she was born, and it made it extremely difficult for her to walk. “It drains my energy, of course, because it’s an extra 100 pounds,” she said. The condition makes her more susceptible to contracting fibrosis, and the only way to manage it is through physiotherapy and massages to drain the excess fluid in her leg.
She had a difficult time growing up.
The model talked about how she faced many difficulties growing up: “I’ve been through a very depressed state because you’re a little kid, and you have a bunch of grown adults staring at you.” She would receive many unwarranted comments from others and was teased throughout her childhood. “I will say it probably can affect you more mentally and emotionally,” she revealed.
“As a child, I never felt pretty. I felt ugly, like a freak of nature, and cried in private so many times,” said Geter. She had been suggested surgery by many doctors, but she turned it down every time, stating that in some other, more severe cases, surgery hadn’t completely gotten rid of the growth. Instead, she chose to accept herself as she was.
She began her modeling journey in 2017.
Geter’s life changed forever in 2017 when she was spotted by a photographer while she was working at Walmart. Initially thinking it was fake, the young woman eventually agreed to let the photographer take pictures of her. “I was like, ’I’m getting older now, maybe it’s time I start putting my full body out there,’ and hopefully me doing that can help somebody else,” she said.
This one opportunity catapulted Geter’s career as a model. Following this, she was featured in a viral YouTube video that amassed over 10 million views. Her presence on Instagram and other social media platforms has also increased. “Mainly, I’ve gotten a lot of positive responses, and the ones I like the most are that it helps people that also feel low about themselves,” she said.
She aims to help others embrace their unique bodies.
Despite her increased presence on the internet resulting in some Internet trolls, Geter has remained positive throughout, saying, “People have been so nice and supportive of me online. It isn’t all trolling and negativity.” She has remained consistent in spreading body positivity and encouraging others to be more comfortable in their bodies.
Geter is committed to her dream of becoming a model. “If I ever make it big, I want to buy my mother a house and take care of my family, then I’ll do everything I can to raise awareness of lymphedema to pay it back to everyone who has ever shown me kindness.” She continues to use her condition to inspire others to celebrate their differences as well.
Her journey has inspired many.
Although Geter’s journey has been hard, she has learned to accept herself and vows to spread this attitude to others. “For the longest, I felt so low about myself, but once I got older and with loads of support from the online lymphedema community and my mom who is my inspiration, I realized how beautiful I am. Not only looks, but as a person.”
What part of Mahogany Geter’s journey resonated with you the most? Do you have any advice for those that struggle to accept their bodies? Share it with us.
Preview photo credit lymph.goddess23 / Instagram, lymph.goddess23 / Instagram
Heartbreaking Decision: Parents Forced to Pull the Plug on 13-Year-Old Daughter After Sleepover Nightmare!
Australia’s Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her sadness when she talked to a mom and dad who had to make the heartbreaking decision to end the life of their 13-year-old daughter.
Their daughter died because of a dangerous social media trend called chroming, and Langdon, who is also a mom, struggled to keep her tears in.
On A Current Affair, Ally Langdon spoke with Andrea and Paul Haynes about their daughter Esra’s tragic death. Esra died after trying a dangerous trend called chroming, where people inhale toxic chemicals to get high.
Esra was remembered as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she was co-captain. She was a young athlete who raced BMX bikes with her brothers and helped her team win a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
Heartbreaking Decision: Parents Forced to Pull the Plug on 13-Year-Old Daughter After Sleepover Nightmare!
Australia’s Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her sadness when she talked to a mom and dad who had to make the heartbreaking decision to end the life of their 13-year-old daughter.
Their daughter died because of a dangerous social media trend called chroming, and Langdon, who is also a mom, struggled to keep her tears in.
On A Current Affair, Ally Langdon spoke with Andrea and Paul Haynes about their daughter Esra’s tragic death. Esra died after trying a dangerous trend called chroming, where people inhale toxic chemicals to get high.
Esra was remembered as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she was co-captain. She was a young athlete who raced BMX bikes with her brothers and helped her team win a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
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On March 31, Esra went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. Sadly, she tried a dangerous activity called chroming, where she sniffed a can of aerosol deodorant. This caused her to go into cardiac arrest and suffer serious brain damage.
“It was just a normal night for her, hanging out with friends,” Esra’s mom Andrea told Langdon in the interview. Her dad Paul added, “We always knew where she was and who she was with. It wasn’t anything unusual… But that night, we got a call no parent ever wants to get: ‘Come and get your daughter.’”
Langdon explains that Esra’s friends thought she was having a panic attack, but after inhaling the deodorant, her body started to shut down and she went into cardiac arrest. None of the friends knew what to do for a cardiac arrest.
When Andrea got to Esra, paramedics were trying to save her and told her that Esra had been chroming, which Andrea had never heard of before.
Esra was taken to the hospital, and her parents hoped she would recover since her heart and lungs were still strong.
After eight days on life support, Paul and Andrea were told that Esra’s brain was too damaged to be fixed, and they had to make the heart-wrenching decision to turn off the machines.
Struggling to find the words, her parents talked about how painful it was to end their daughter’s life.
Esra’s siblings and friends are now on a mission to warn others about the dangers of chroming, a dangerous trend that led to Esra’s death. Chroming involves inhaling things like deodorant to get high, and it caused Esra to go into cardiac arrest.
Esra’s dad said it was incredibly hard to bring family and friends to the hospital for their final goodbyes. “It was so hard to say goodbye to her,” he said. “We laid with her and hugged her until the end.”
Seeing the parents’ pain, Ally Langdon, who has two young kids of her own, couldn’t hold back her tears.
Since Esra’s death in early April, Paul says the family is completely “broken” and Esra’s siblings, Imogen, Seth, and Charlie, are all devastated. Paul said, “It’s been the hardest, most traumatic time for us. We haven’t been sleeping, eating, or smiling. It’s not just affected us, but the whole community.”
Paul and Andrea didn’t know about chroming before it took their daughter, but now they want to raise awareness about this dangerous trend. Chroming uses everyday products like deodorant, paint, or hairspray to get high, and it can cause serious health problems or death.
Paul wishes he had known about chroming so he could have warned Esra. “If we had known about it, we would have talked to her about it,” he said.
Paul plans to help other parents learn about chroming so they can talk to their kids about it and keep them safe. “Parents need to talk to their children about these dangers,” he said.
Since 2009, chroming has caused many deaths in Australia and around the world. It can lead to seizures, heart attacks, suffocation, and more.
Paul said, “We will always remember what we saw. It broke our hearts.”
Please share this story to help other parents learn about the dangers of chroming and protect their children.
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