Patricia "Pattie" Ashton Cornute came into my life in 2019. I first heard about Lipedema at The Mastocytosis Society conference in San Francisco. It took about a year for me to get diagnosed. Lipedema Fitness became my 1st Lipedema community. (photo: Kasi left; Pattie, right).
Pattie was kind enough to friend me individually on Facebook, and we commented back and forth on each other's stuff fairly frequently. She was obsessed with quirky eyeglasses; I was jealous, because I only have 1 pair at a time! We both had curly-haired daughters...5 days apart in age. We both have incredibly supportive husbands. We both are allergic to things--she was allergic to coriander and lightly to cilantro; for me, reactions are the core of Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia Syndrome (HATS). And we both love the arts--if you've never seen her art, you've got to see her website and Instagram.
I probably would have remained only in that one community, except that Pattie recommended that I consider joining Lipoedema Friends International. It was a good call.
Even at this point, I had never met Pattie in person. But I was so excited that my sister, Kasi Grosvenor, roomed next to her at a conference! Kasi let me know that Pattie was even cooler in person than she was in the digital world.
We talked a little about gardening, our girls, about art and photography, but what compelled me the most was her concept of #allorsomething. It has changed me. Not just related to Lipedema Fitness' triathlons, which my daughter and I truly enjoy participating in. But related to life. You don't have to have the whole set to enjoy your collection. You don't have to be able to hit 26.2 mi. Every body part you have doesn't have to be perfect to use the ones that work well.
Our most recent conversation was a difficult one...I had written about living through Listeriosis with HATS (which has been in the news a lot lately)--without her mom was in a facility where they used a smoothie found to have listeria.
Soon after, her mom passed (which of course may not have been related to listeria). Pattie was supposed to speak at the Fat Disorders Resource Society later this month, and was heartbroken she had to cancel... She had spoken for them a number of times.
The world is a much better place because of Pattie. Her compassion for people with lipedema was so precious. Say a prayer for Coach Bob and Noelle. If she has been this meaningful to all of us, I can't imagine the loss her family is experiencing.
Noelle, if you ever see this page, these flowers are for you. She told me grape hyacinths were your favorite, ever since you were old enough to walk in the backyard and pick them.
Pattie was a light🕯️in our world. It's our turn to take up the mantle. #AllOrSomething
Photos, ©️ 2024 Kasi Grosvenor
