A BRIDE-TO-BE is undergoing grueling treatment to decrease her 4-foot-wide (1.22-meter-wide) legs.

    Katia Page, 36, suffers with Lipoedema — a chronic disorder that causes fatty tissue to accumulate in mass around the lower body.

    Page, from New Jersey, the U.S., has started a series of liposuction sessions to prevent her legs from growing further.

    She said, “Before I had any surgeries, my legs were like 50 to 54 inches (1.27 to 1.37 meters).”

    Early signs from Page’s treatment show positive results with the swelling in her legs gradually decreasing. But Dr. Lizzie Gottsegen, who is managing Page’s progress, knows her patient still has a long way to go.

    She said, “There are not many therapists or doctors for that matter that are even aware of this disease.

    “If Katia has no surgery, if she had no bandaging, if she had no will to move — Katia would be dead very soon.”

    Page added, “The swelling was at one point so bad that my ankles would be literally hanging all the way over my foot. My biggest fear is becoming immobile because once I can’t move, I know this disease will progress and I could lose my life.”

    Page experiences a daily struggle with people assuming she is overweight because of an unhealthy diet, rather than her life-threatening disease that she can do nothing to prevent.

    But no matter what negativity is thrown her way, she still has her dream wedding to look forward to. (SD-Agencies)