Temperance, MI

Member Since April 2004

My Story
My name is Merry Rader and I have been a member of Ken and Val Kopkas Curves in Temperance, Michigan since 2004. I went to Curves to exercise, and get into shape, something that I had dreamed of for a long time. I got that and so much more. I made many friends, especially Betty, who works at Curves and Heather, who is the manager of the club. These friends have made all the difference in my life in the last six months.
My story is that of a person who has twice in a lifetime had trouble moving. The first time, because I used food to sooth my troubles away and eventually I gained a tremendous amount of weight. The second time, well, Ill get to that in a moment because that is where the friends I have at Curves come in.
I have fought the battle of extra weight most of my life. Even though I grew up on a farm and I did manual labor, I was labeled as the chubby one. My mom had me drink skim milk while my three sisters drank whole milk. If this had done the trick, perhaps I would feel differently, but all I remember is my milk sitting in the refrigerator door. I was different. To this day I do not like the taste of milk.
I am 411, which does not allow me to carry any extra pounds. As I got older, I started to diet, and this proved to be my undoing. I only weighed 145 lbs going into college, but I was over 180 when I graduated. That was a lot of weight to gain, but that was only the beginning.
I have always been a devout Christian, and I followed a call to the ministry after college and went into the seminary. While at seminary I met my husband of 28 years, Gary. While we were dating he helped me join Weight Watchers. That was the first time in my adult life that I had been normal sized. Unfortunately, as soon as I reached my goal weight, I began to gain weight. I could not eat that restricted diet for the rest of my life.
When Gary and I were at our first church, I still had a part-time job. I was injured at that job and that injury caused me great pain. I was given a prescription drug which caused a weight gain of almost 40 lbs in three months. When I alerted the doctor of this alarming fact, his response was, well you needed the medicine.

Eventually, I healed from the injury but found it hard to exercise and experienced pain and tenderness that I had not had before. Those extra pounds took me over 200 lbs for the first time in my life and they stayed with me for over 23 years.
That was the beginning of the spiral. Gary and I were fortunate to have a beautiful daughter, Amy, but I gained weight even more easily as a new mom. I was a pastor, a wife, a mother, so I did everything I could to stay active. I even went to an exercise class when I weighed 250 lbs! Unfortunately, even that regular exercise did not prevent my thyroid from failing.
At this point in my life I was close to 300 lbs and working as a hospice chaplain. My top weight on the doctors scale was 314 lbs. I had given up on dieting. I had a conversation with my family doctor who told me that I would not live long if my weight continued to remain this high. I finally made the difficult decision to undergo gastric by-pass surgery. At the time of surgery I had lost some weight and was down to 304; to demonstrate to the doctors that I was capable of losing the weight. My surgery occurred in October 2003. In the months that followed, I lost enough weight to actually make mobility an easier task!
In March 2004, my daughter Amy and I went to the Bedford Business Associations trade fair, which is where I met my friends from Curves. Betty was representing the club that day and after answering numerous questions and reservations that I had, she assured me that I would definitely fit into the equipment. Betty was right! Since I joined Curves I have been able to completely recondition my body.
Losing 150 lbs and becoming fit are achievements just by themselves. However, I have just had another change in my health that no one could have foreseen. Last year a brain tumor was discovered, and it was urgent that it be removed. Thankfully, it wasnt cancer, but surgery left me partially paralyzed on the left side of my body. This is the second time I have had mobility issues. My brain surgery took place January 14, 2009.
I wish to publicly acknowledge how helpful Curves has been in my recovery process. Just two days prior to brain surgery, I completed my 700th workout! I truly believe that being fit has been instrumental to my continuing recovery. I have regained functionality in my left arm and hand and I am working diligently to regain the use of the lower part of my left leg and foot.
Heather Ellis, the manger of my Curves, all of the ladies, and especially Betty, have been helping to keep my spirits uplifted. I will need physical therapy for a while yet, but I remain thankful for all of the support, generosity and encouragement I receive from this club. One of the most wonderful things my Curves family has done for me was to collect a $500 love gift to help my family. In addition, the Curves staff and members are planning another fundraiser for my family in July 2009. In the club, the ladies are having a purse auction, where members donated gently used handbags and then they are auctioning them off to help raise money for me. I will be in attendance as the guest of honor. I am very excited to visit with my Curves friends and family and I am truly honored that they are helping me and my family during this time of hardship. Words can never express how precious their love and support is to me as I continue to recover.






It was always a pleasure to workout with these ladies and to be fit and strong with them before my surgery. I will never forget how challenging it was to move when I weighed over 300 lbs and also after my debilitating surgery, BUT I am determined to recover from this minor setback so that I may once again rejoin my Curves family and start working out!

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