18 months ago today I was paralyzed. ---Pics.---

e001w

Amazing! Congrats on all your hard work.

Gerald_King

Fantastic way to go

jasmine_noel

Amazing! What a great effort for your health and family

glenncito

Thank you for sharing that.. You are one of the reasons I will suceed....

Kendrazombie

Wow! That is one amazing story. I am so happy you prevailed!

hinzee4

Truly inspirational!!! Thanks for posting!!

Ghette

:drinker: Congratulations on rising above. We never know what's insides us until the unthinkable happens. You are a true inspiration.
I hope that you continue to work hard and inspire others.
Thanks for sharing your story.:flowerforyou:

dqgirl1

you are truly amazing and such an inspiration to everyone!!!!! WELL DONE:)

Maxine00

O.M.G. You rock. I don't know if I can ever rock as much as you.

cxsiegel

Amazing.

Mummyadams

Goosebumps! Well done - amazing!

Yaya1976

OMG what an amazing story. You brought tears to my eyes.
You are an inspiration. I hope that you're super proud of your success.

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

daisiemae123

Such an amazing and inspirational story. Thanks for sharing.

cad39too

You are amazing. Girl on FIRE!!!!!!!

kareann57

Oh how I love your post with a happy on going story!!! That is just awesome but I know it took extremely hard work from you to get through everything! I am so glad it is going so good for you!! You have a lovely family and I'm sure they are so happy with Mommy! Thank you for sharing your story with all of us! Nice to always have that nudge most of us can use! You look just beautiful with your pretty dress! Just amazing!!

joied

Amazing, you're a gift to your family & all of us on MFP. Thank you for sharing your story. The photos really illustrated your struggle & eventual triumph. Good luck for the future.

commotionstrange

You're amazing! Best of all you make all my excuses look like exactly what they are...EXCUSES! Thank you for posting

polar135

Amazing!

Scottish_charlene_84

WOW! U look completely and utterly gorgeous. Well done you. U r amazing!!!

tadnor

Fantastic job! What a great payoff for all of you hard work!

LuccyH

Very proud of you and glad that I know you. ♥

graceful2002

Wow, you've done an amazing job!

maeveslim

So inspiring, thank you so much for sharing your story.

TinaDay1114

I have no words for what I've just seen...and now on those days when I just don't wanna anymore, I have no EXCUSES, either. Way to go. And with 3 kids at home? Amazing. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

gc_tweety

I hope you can forgive me for sometimes thinking I can't. Thank you for showing me I can, you are amazing. :flowerforyou:

nomo_excuses

what an incredible story! congratulations on your success!! you look beautiful and fit :-) and you are truly inspiring. thank you for posting this!!

Kurls4Daze

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY THIS REALLY WAS A HARD JOURNEY AND YOU MADE IT!!! MY HAT GOES OFF TO YOU!!!

Today is a big day for me. It was 18 months ago today, June 11, 2011, that I was rushed to the ER in an ambulance because I had lost all feeling below the waist. I was transferred to a bigger city hospital where I had emergency spinal surgery - laminectomy, discectomy, and decompression of my spinal cord. Diagnosis was cauda equina syndrome due to a severely herniated disc.

When I woke up I could not move my legs. I could not stand or walk. I was in a wheelchair. For a few weeks I lived at a rehab hospital to regain strength as I sloooowly regained sensation in my legs. It's not all fully back - to this day I'm still numb down the back of my right leg and the bottom of my right foot. Chances are I'll never get that feeling back.

At my discharge appointment with the neurosurgeon on August 17, 2011, he told me to prevent this from happening again, that I needed to lose weight. I took his advice to heart.

I've posted on here before but I wanted to again because today is a big milestone for me. It's been a year and a half. It seems like so long ago but 18 months really isn't that long. It's been 18 months of the hardest work of my life.

18 months ago when I had this injury, I weighed 270 pounds. Now I don't. I weigh about 161-165.

18 months ago when I had this injury, I couldn't walk. Now I can. And I can RUN 12 miles at a shot.

HOW? MyFitnessPal and exercise. That's it. Being accountable for what I eat, and moving my body more.

I'm 5'8" and have three kids, who were 9 months, 2.5 years, and 5 years old at the time of my injury.

Before:




In the hospital




Hours of daily therapy in the rehab hospital






About a week after surgery was the first time I could feel my toes. It was truly amazing. This is the morning I woke up and could feel the fabric of my sock brushing on my toes.


After a few weeks I was out of the wheelchair and using a walker and I was discharged home. I had physical and occupational therapists visiting my house 4-5x/week for about 6 weeks.


Then I graduated to a cane the next month. This is the only picture I can find of my cane. That's my youngest daughter.


A month after that my surgeon told me to lose weight. So I started walking daily and joined MFP that very day.

Old pants (size 24) vs new pants (size medium)


Now I run a lot.


And wear a size 8/10



If I could do it, you can too. Get up and move. Start logging your nutrition. Be accountable to yourself. You're worth it.

Thanks for letting me share.

LBNOakland

Wow!! You have me in tears!! What an amazing story!

Momma1213

I'm just speechless. What an outstanding life story! As all have said before me, YOU ARE AMAZING!

emmalauren02

That's an amazing story...and scary to me, too because I've been having a lot of back pain lately...bulging disc, hitting a nerve...and sometimes the pain brings me to my knees.
I really need to lose weight, although, no one has told me this. Which is odd...because, clearly, I do. Reading your story hit home for me and I'm going to take this seriously. Thanks so much for sharing this. My start weight is about the same as yours was. But I can do it with great success stories like yours! Congrats! Any tricks on what you did to start exercising? How many calories did you start out with?