Fitness Saved my life literally

Nope, don't see it either. Maybe you should just tell us how it saved you

I found it. Here it is below...

CEDAR RUN - As a woman past the half-century mark who long had ignored diet and fitness but was finding the physical demands of her job as a carpenter becoming tougher, Paula Martin set out to get herself in better shape.

It was as much for her livelihood as her life.

But Martin, 55, went beyond simply adopting a physical fitness program.

Her goal was to win the Million Dollar Body Contest, a national competition.

The grueling training program allowed her to build muscle, shed pounds and gain a greater sense of self-esteem - even if she fell short of her goal.

"At first I was motivated by the prize and getting that. I really thought I was going to win that because I really didn't think there were women in my age group who could beat me. But maybe I was getting in shape for something bigger."

Reel ahead a couple of years to Sunday, June 30.

Martin was driving along a remote state forest road near her Elk Township home when one of the car's tires got too close to the road shoulder.

The car plunged down a steep bank, rolling at least four times before landing in a creek.

Martin knew from the searing pain that she was badly hurt.

She would later learn she had suffered two fractured vertebrae and a broken shoulder bone.

Given her condition, the remote wilderness area where few vehicles go, and the wreckage mostly hidden from passersby, she figured she might have little choice but to find a way out herself.

"Where I dropped off, there's no cell phone service. You basically couldn't see me unless you got out of your car," she said.

Martin managed to crawl out of a broken back window. She remembered first realizing she may have broken her left shoulder when her hand touched the ground and she felt no strength to support herself.

She then managed with the other side of her body to lower herself down to the creek bed into a foot of water, a feat she is sure she would not have been able to do were it not for the upper body strength she had developed during her training.

Fighting pain and faced with the daunting task of finding a way up the steep hill, Martin knew her work had only begun.

It was then she heard a truck coming along the road.

As it approached and passed her by, she waved her arms and cried frantically for help, but to no avail.

"The frustrating thing was watching that truck go by," she recalled.

And so, Martin began the arduous work of scaling the hill.

"It was very gravelly and loose there. The side of that bank is pretty much impossible to walk up."

Here is her recollection of the climb: "Now I realized I would not be seen unless I climbed up the side of the mountain in order to get help. Worried about my injuries and the possibility of going into shock or passing out before I got help motivated me to move past the pain and fear. Every step I took sent excruciating pain up my back. I reached the edge of the bank and scanned the side for the best route up a 50 degree angle. I got on my hands and knees and looked up for anything to grab with my right hand to help pull me up since my left side was useless. I grabbed roots and branches and slowly made my way to the road. The last 10 feet scared me the most. There weren't any roots and the thought of sliding back down was unbearable. I inched my way to the level road and stood up shaking and panting in pain."

It wasn't long before someone came along in a vehicle.

"It ended up being my neighbor's son," she said.

Martin was transported to Cedar Run where she received initial medical attention before she was taken by medical helicopter to Geisinger Medical Center.

More than six weeks later, she remains in a brace to stabilize her spine, although she can walk. Injuries to her shoulder make it difficult for her to raise one arm.

"I'm going to face a lot of physical therapy," she said.

When she trained for an online Million Dollar Body Contest for women over 50, Martin incorporated a regimen that included weights, core fitness training and yoga. For her efforts she lost 65 pounds and won a $1,000 prize.

That made her eligible for a $250,000 prize for a California competition involving other monthly winners

She didn't win, but she had adopted a new lifestyle of exercise and healthy eating.

By being in shape, she feels she won something bigger: Her life.

All those pushups and other exercises gave her the strength to make it up the hill that day.

Exercise, she realized, is more than making your body stronger to ward off diabetes, heart attacks and high blood pressure.

"I never thought of the option of it literally saving your life," she said. "I had better back strength. I have to think having a stronger back made it (the accident) not as bad as it could have been."

She said it's a difficult transition to be worried now about trying to raise an arm, when she had previously been so strong and fit. But having the discipline of regular exercise makes rehabilitation easier.

A Web site has been established for Martin at www.pu****forpaula.com.

Wow, that's amazing. I'm glad you are okay!