- The Doctors Were Wrong... Anything IS Possible!
It's that time again... Time to pack up the winter clothes and get out the warm weather stuff. It's the time of year that can make people start to think about how "out of shape" they have become over the winter. Especially since this has been an extremely long and for many of us a brutal winter. Which only makes me that much more giddy on those days when the thermometer goes above 45 degrees and I can smell that spring is indeed in the air, old man winter is dying, and will soon breathe his last breath for the year.
Like so many others I'm thinking about summer, summer clothes and fitting into them. Some people might not know this but I used to be a "chunker" as a little Greek Girl. It wasn't until I was an adult that I really got into fitness, healthy eating, working out as a lifestyle and ended up losing over 35 lbs. Now I was never "fat" by any means, I was just well... lets say "well fed". I worked really hard to lose the weight and maintain it for several years, and it was not that difficult, that is until the car accidents.
What car accidents? Some of my blog readers and followers of my music are aware of what happened; For those who are not, my husband and I were in two car accidents two years ago. First we were rear ended by an SUV while stopped at a stop light, pushing us into the car in front of us, totaling my car (RIP "Johnny Jetta" - I had only had about 3 months at the time). Anyway we both suffered several injuries including multiple herniated disks, and probably the most difficult is the Traumatic Brain Injury. Ironically while on the way to the chiropractor less than six months later, we were rear ended again while stopped at a stop light. Which was unbelievable I know, I still can't believe it myself. Needless to say the second rear ending only made everything worse including the TBI.
Now I won't go into the gory details about it because first and foremost we are alive and we have each other. Although we struggle every day just to do things we never even thought about before the accidents, we are thankful for our health and realize that so many other people in the world struggle with worse health problems. Now why am I telling you about all this muckery?... There is a point, bear with me.
See the thing is, my life changed forever that day. It changed for both of us, my husband used to be a fit model, and was even the standing fit model for Marc Jacobs for six seasons. I was in the middle of doing a transformation for a national fitness infomercial for a new product launch. Which I had to drop out of, as I was unable to continue to do hours of high impact cardio and workout to the level required daily. So in the aftermath of trying to recover we both had a choice to make... We have spent the last two years in recovery, doing physical therapy, chiropractic, epidurals, trigger point injections, massage, you name it we have probably tried it.
I even bought a teeter inversion table www.teeter-inversion.com - which is probably one of the reasons I am able to walk around today. I can not say enough about it and it has helped tremendously. But the thing is... everyone at some point in their lives has to struggle with some sort of physical limitations. Weather it be from a car accident, a fall, or weight issues... everyone will at some point, at some time will face something that challenges their physical body. There will come a time when it will literally come down to mind over matter. I know you might be thinking "What are you talking about Greek Girl?... Sounds like gobble goop to me".
Hear me out. Most people who know me know one thing about me, "Rocky" is one of my favorite movies of all time. I can never tire of watching any of them, and Rocky is one of my heroes. The never give up spirit is something I have always connected with, especially having spent my entire life pursuing my musical dream. However never in my life have I ever really understood what "Never Give Up" meant until now. The TBI is different than the physical stuff, and really besides diet, sleep, and therapy for it, and adjusting how you do things, slowing down ,etc. there is nothing that is going to "make it better". Other than being frustrated when you do something like say leave the stove on for seven hours while you are home and have no idea... it is just frustrating more than anything else, but with it there is no "pain". With the physical things though, there is pain. Your body hurts and the last thing at times you want to do is go "workout".
I've been here, thinking to myself... "I don't need to go exercise I'm injured and I should just relax". This is where so many people get stuck. Stuck to the point where it spirals out of control and their bodies become a prison. I have dealt with it and it takes a conscious effort, choosing every day to do it because it is helping your body to become stronger. Making that choice all starts in the mind. The mind tells your boy what it can and can not do, and your "will" is the gas pedal. Shortly after the second car accident I saw this video on youtube titled "Never Ever Give Up" .
It brought me to tears. It's about a man named Arthur who was a disabled veteran. He was injured from many years of jumping out of airplanes. The doctors told him he would never walk unassisted ever again. He lost hope, and he gained a lot of weight. His story is so incredible and honestly just like Rocky movies I can not get tired of seeing it. I have posted it many times to my Facebook page, but it just seemed so appropriate to spotlight again in relation to "Spring Training".
You see, every single one of us has a struggle. There is something that everyone thinks is out of reach, something that they can never do. The beautiful thing about Arthur's story is he shows us that anyone can change if they put their mind to it. You can change your story and climb your mountain, but you have to make up your mind to do it. You have to tell your body that you will not allow it to keep your spirit locked in a prison. I hope you will enjoy watching his story and seeing where he is today as much as I do, and that you will share it with someone you know who has lost hope. Who thinks they are too far gone, who thinks they can never overcome their obstacle. Arthur shows us that anything is possible, anything... you just have to believe in yourself.
*(If you're reading on a mobile device and video is missing or does not play, click the following link to see - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448 )
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