January 2018, I was given the news that no one wants to hear that I have a type of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma.
At this stage, the levels were low enough to not require treatment. That day, my specialist gave myself and my husband a lot of information to take away and think about. One thing that she did talk to me about was implementing a healthier lifestyle. At that stage, I was 83 kilos , overweight , fitness regime needed a revamp and my mindset obviously wasn’t fantastic finding out the latest bombshell.
We talked about how if I incorporated a healthier lifestyle on all levels. Mind, body and soul, then this would certainly benefit my cancer levels. With this type of blood cancer, people actually can go up to 15 years of there life without treatment.
That trip back home to Albury from Melbourne was the quietest ever for myself and my husband. I cried a lot it just felt like a bad dream. Then this little voice in my head was like ” Well what are you going to do about it, your strong, brave and a fighter. You can beat this!” I love you God.
Belief in myself. What did that mean? Well, one thing it meant was putting my big girl pants on and deciding on a plan. The next day, I went to the gym, one of my favourite places, and I saw a sign up saying Fernwood 12 week challenge. My eyes lit up. What was this? Was I meant to see this? This could be the start for me to put this healthy lifestyle change into practice.
I found myself signing up. OMG! You’ve got this girlfriend! An inner strength came over me. I made a commitment to myself for the next 12 weeks. It was intense, hard and there were some weeks where my inner strength was tested.
The journey involved commitment and accountability. I had a journal where I logged everything from food, exercise, water intake, what you were grateful for and my goals.
I was doing 5 classes a day , hikes , pt sessions, bike rides and walking. Towards the end of the challenge, I introduced the park run. I had an absolute fear of running. Well, how wrong was I? I actually loved it! I felt free and empowered.
Each week I showed up and I kicked my goals every week on a whole, mind, body and soul level. However, having my support team backing me the whole way was so important. I’m so grateful to have them all.
Fast forward to the end! That belief, courage and strength lead me to be the winner of my club, Fernwood Albury Wodonga. I lost a total of 16kg , 39cm. My fitness level was phenomenal and I looked and felt amazing.
The BIGGEST joy, was my cancer levels dropped and stayed steady!!!!
Winner at life. This is me at the 12 week Challenge Fernwood Fitness Gala night! <3
This woman in the picture believed she could. she showed strength AND courage. She is so in love with herself that it is intoxicating.
So come with me on this journey called life!
