footepath.org

Who Are These Women?

Normal people, we promise

We became friends in 1995 when we both belonged to a support group for women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Our friendship was instant and deep, and the more time went on, the more we discovered we had in common. Namely, health issues.

For five or six years, we discussed our problems with PCOS, Type II Diabetes, weight, beginning arthritis, and so on. Many times we shared our frustration at the lack of information. Even our specialists told us that we would need to become experts and learn the answers for ourselves.

So we started doing research. Everything we found on PCOS ended with “diet and exercise”. Everything we found on Diabetes ended with “diet and exercise”. Everything we found on Arthritis ended with “diet and exercise”. Notice a trend? So did we. The problem was, we couldn’t get any definitive answers on what type of diet or exercise. Armed with advice but not much else we tried various fad diets, joined gyms and stood out like sore thumbs. With each passing year, we became more frustrated with a fitness industry that seemed design to fail or even abandon those of us who need it the most.

For awhile, we tried a new approach: sedentary. I mean, what we’d been doing hadn’t worked, so maybe if we just ignored our health problems they would go away. Not surprisingly, they got worse. I think we had both reached the point of “why bother?” About this time, Donna had taken a stress test, and could not go five minutes on the treadmill! Yes, we had reached an all-time low.

In August of 2004, I was introduced to LEKI and Nordic Walking. Between the arthritis in my knees and my activity induced asthma, I’d pretty much given up on exercise. It hurt too much to do most movements, and then I’d have trouble breathing. This weird “walking with sticks” thing, though, was wonderful. I could carry on conversations without a problem and my knees didn’t hurt! After 2 ½ hours of Nordic Walking, I called Donna to tell her. I think it took her about 2 minutes to become a convert.

We had in our hands a very powerful tool, one that would help us improve our health. We also had many years of living a sedentary lifestyle, and it took us awhile to realize that this was actually the “exercise” part of the dreaded “D&E” we’d been searching for all those years. It took us about 18 months to become consistent in using our poles. We began to notice a rapid improvement in our overall health. Donna has lost about 65 pounds and I’ve lost about 15. More importantly, though, we just feel better! Donna’s resting heart rate is an astonishing 54! My diabetes is currently controlled by diet and exercise.

I had maintained my connection with LEKI from August of 2004, and in January of 2006 I received an invitation to become a LEKI trained Nordic Walking Instructor. Within a week, based on her enthusiasm about Nordic Walking, the invitation has been extended to Donna as well. In March 2006, we boarded a plane in Salt Lake and arrived in Florida. The next morning, someone asked me how long I’d been in the fitness industry. I checked my watch.

We came home from training, and started a business. We started teaching classes, sharing our love of this activity with others like us. We knew it wasn’t enough. We knew there needed to be more. We needed to build a community. We continue to teach this great fitness activity and are currently working to organize a monthly walking group.

So, who are these women? We’re wives and mothers. We have jobs and we’re entrepreneurs. We are fitness instructors and we are the not-so-fit. We have faced challenges that seem insurmountable and we have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. We are normal women, driven by a need to help others like us to create sustainable change. We are a work in progress.