Carla Sosenko, a copy editor from New York, was born with a congenital disorder called Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, or simply abbreviated as KTS. Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome caused the soft-tissue hypertrophy of affected areas of boby parts due to mistakes in the formation of blood and lymphatic vessels. After keeping the secret and hiding her dilemma for so many years, Carla Sosenko finally decided to announce she is suffering the disease in order to raise the awareness. She wrote in Marie Claire about her KTS:
I was born with the rare circulatory disorder Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (K-T), which translates differently for everyone who has it. For me, it means my right leg is larger than my left and trails slightly when I walk; my back is an uneven, fatty slab with a dense lump above the waist (which a guy in high school once called a meatball); and a gigantic port-wine stain reaches around my broad torso and down toward my right thigh. I know it could have been worse. I might have been blind; I might have needed amputation. I know that I’m lucky.
Carla Sosenko’s article was entitled What The Guys I Date Don’t Know. Apparently, one can instantly feel that Ms. Sosenko’s Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome has made her so difficult to have dates with the men. But that does not mean Carla can not have a meaningful life or do what she wanna do:
My story doesn’t begin or end with K-T. I have a full social calendar, a job that I love, excellent clothes, a teeny-tiny nose ring, a filthy mouth, and a badass triangle pose. Most important, I have family and friends who care about me.
Besides working as a full-time copy editor, Carla Sosenko is also a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Self, New York Moves, Punchline, The Boston Metro and Urge Magazine.
Best wishes to Carla!
Source & Image:MarieClaire.com, Link to a brief biography of Carla Sosenko on Jewcy.com; Link to Children’s Hospital Boston’s introduction on What Is Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome with unidentified patients’ photos.
