MASON CITY

Member Since January 2009

My Story
While working at hair styling school, I assisted a bridal party getting styled for a wedding. I cut and groomed the man who was the bride's brother. The man, an officer in the Army Reserves, would later become my husband in August of 2006.
Newlyweds only six months, I traveled with James' grandparents to visit him in Georgia. James graduated and the following day, his grandparents and I began our trip home. I went to sleep in the back seat of the van and woke up in the hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma one month later with seven machines helping me to live. An oncoming driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line, killing James' grandma and leaving his grandpa confined to a wheelchair.
The way to Curves can be tough for many, myself included. In November 2008, I was invited to Curves by my mother-in-law, Connie. Connie wanted to see if I could workout at Curves. When she brought me into Curves that first day, I was nervous. I did not know if the people would be nice or snooty. I tried a few machines and joined Curves on my first visit. I started on the circuit using a walker with two wheels on the front. With my Curves coaches by my side, I moved slowly, needing help getting up, moving with my walker and sitting down again. When I worked the machines, the Coaches thought that I was hurting. I told them I did not hurt but that I had to really concentrate on getting my legs to move.
Other members noticed the effort that it took for me just to get to Curves-I came on the city bus and then waited for an hour for the bus to pick me up after I was done. They also noticed the dedication that I put in to every Curves workout. One particular member, Cindy, watched me working and told me later that she thought, "I can surely do this. Here I am, able to move from machine to machine with ease". Cindy and I have become friends and she now brings me with her to workout at Curves.
Since I began Curves, I have graduated from the physical thereapy classes that I attended twice a week. I am using a cane to walk and I can even walk to the grocery store. I recall the day that I found out that I had a 70 percent chance of dying. Since my comeback I want everyone to know that "I am making life end not as a sorrow, but making my life end as a joy. Feeling down was holding me back. I ask myself everyday, what can I do today to move myself forward with a job and a house, because if I don't, I will go backwards. My life is like a ladder. I was on the bottom rung because of the accident and the coma, and because of God and my hard work at Curves, I am much higher on the ladder now.

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