I hated gym class and never played team sports. So, of course, I became a gym rat.

My competitive spirit lies solely in competing against myself. So it came as as much of a surprise to myself as it did to others that I graduated from college with a degree in Health and Physical Education: Corporate Fitness. I was intrigued by the body and it’s abilities and how it worked wanted to share that knowledge and help people learn to enjoy exercise without the pressure of phys.ed.

I soon became a certified personal trainer and dove head first into the lifestyle of a gym rat. Unfortunately, the gym lifestyle, at the time, was more focused on looks rather than health. It was in the early 90’s and skinny at all costs was the goal for many. I took this turn as an cue to find another route to health and went to graduate school to find the cure for cancer. Although I did not cure cancer, I did get a great education in Microbiology and Immunology and I did work in cancer research, all of which help me in my training today.

Then one day I got sick. Good and sick. So sick that nobody was sure if I would get well again. I “got the Lyme”. That’s what my sister and I call contracting Lyme’s disease. During my illness, I was so weak that I couldn’t get up to nuke myself a can of soup. My daily workout was to get my body out of bed to use the restroom. And that took a toll. After a few months of different antibiotics, I started to feel a bit better. My parents would come to take me to the park as I progressed. At first, they would park as close to a bench as they could and we would walk from the car just to the bench and sit. It was so nice to be outside in the fresh air and to move a little bit. We measured my healing by the distance we could walk from bench to bench. I knew I was going to get better when I was able to walk all the way around the park without a rest. Woohoo! Luckily for me, I had a good doctor who helped me get the right combo of antibiotics to kill the Lyme, and a great family who helped me to get around the park!

I was also lucky to have had such a debilitating illness and to be able to come back from it and get stronger and healthier than ever. Many people never get that opportunity. And most young people never really appreciate their bodies and their health. We all take it for granted, until it is gone. I was given a unique opportunity to appreciate my body and it’s abilities when I still have the chance to make it better.