Anyway, here are some inspiring stories for Motivational Monday!
In 2012, at age 27, Hannah was told by her doctors that she had just SIX WEEKS to live. She was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and felt like the entire world just stopped spinning. She went through intensive chemotherapy, and endured nine weeks of it before her surgeon performed a major operation--removing most of her stomach and her esophagus. She then went through another nine weeks of chemotherapy. She started working out again when her doctors gave her the okay, and even started training with a local triathlon club. Three years later, she has done things that she thought were impossible: she's completed a duathlon, a triathlon, turned 30 years old, and last weekend, she completed her first half-marathon! She finished in 2:31, well under her goal of 2:45, and raised money for the cancer hospital she went to for chemo, The Beatson in Glasgow, U.K.
In January of this year, Taryn sustained a life-altering injury when she dislocated her knee, tearing the main artery supplying blood to her lower leg. It took almost 12 hours to get the blood flowing back to her leg--she had lost half her blood volume, her kidneys shut down, she nearly lost her leg, and even worse, was close to dying. She spent over two months in the hospital (four days in the ICU, four weeks of complete bed rest, and six weeks total with the metal rod (in photo) in place. She took her first post-injury steps on March 3, which happened to be her birthday. This week, she is proud to say that she has returned to the gym, and is now working with a trainer to get her strength back up. She's counting calories, and the weight is starting to go down. Her doctors predicted she'd be out of work for a minimum of a year, but she's going back at the end of this month, less than 10 months after her accident. She's worked very hard to get to the place she's at now, and she is proud that she hasn't given up on herself!
Phyllis is a runner, and in 2006, completed a half-marathon (which would be her last for several years). She was side-lined from running due to sciatica, but she took a couple of years to get well. In November 2014, she ran another half-marathon, which sparked a new goal. She decided that she wanted to run a half-marathon each month for a year. Yesterday, Phyllis completed her 12th half-marathon in 12 months! Most of the races were in Florida, but she even traveled to Chicago and Atlanta to race. She turned 50 in May, so she is proudly celebrating these accomplishments!
Andréa just completed her first 5K race! She is on a journey to lose over 100 pounds, and has already lost 58. She started walking four months ago, and could barely finish a mile in 30 minutes. On Saturday, she finished her 5K in 51 minutes, including a speedy 16:03 mile (a personal best for her)! That sort of improvement is impressive alone, but she was also pushing her three-year old in a stroller during the race. (Andréa blogs at The Girl Behind the Mask)
As always, I am super inspired by your stories, ladies! Congratulations on your accomplishments!
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