August 25, 2023 “Thank God!”
All of you that follow me on social media know this has been a week of client health concerns, based on some of my postings, but I have been receiving news, all week long, through other client conversations, about their health that I have not even mentioned. Stressors such as injuries, new diagnosis (brain tumor), Covid positive test for a cancer client, divorce, loss of loved ones and so much more have been happening all week long.
You only have one life to live. You are all aware of this, but it’s easy to forget when you’re caught up in your day-to-day lives. As a result, you often put your health on the back burner until it’s too late.
When I encounter a potential new client, I establish up front that I can help anyone lose weight. However, my biggest claim to fame is helping people get off medication and to prevent them from getting on medication. Basically, I want to help you get in the best HEALTH of your life.
Over my 15 years in business, I’ve witnessed a 40-year-old with high blood pressure who was not consistent in taking her meds or eating healthy have a stroke during our 5AM workout. The room was packed, and she came in happy and very energized. Thank God I always use my triage skills to observe and scan a room. While doing a floor exercise I called her name like I call everyone, however she had a gaze that was not normal. I immediately put the mic down and went into action. This client had total left sided paralysis, she was drooling from her mouth, slurred speech and was oblivious to the fact that she was having a stroke. Thank God I helped to write the stroke protocol for a major hospital and helped to get them to become a stroke certified center. This allowed me to assess her deeper and get her to a stroke certified hospital where she was able to regain all her mobility back into her limbs and to save her life.
I have had to perform CPR on a 38-year-old man in the gym. This client was a first-time visitor who came in with his girlfriend to try out a class. Within 20 minutes of a workout, he was gray as the floor, no pulse and not breathing. Thank God I am a CPR instructor for over 25 years, and I was able to perform CPR on him and to save his life.
I have had countless people over the years get dizzy, about to pass out secondary to diabetes, lack of eating/hydrating, lack of taking medications, and the worst is when they take over the counter pills/drinks or are doing a crazy diet that causes me to perform all kinds of nursing skills to revive them with some ending up in a hospital.
Thank God on this past Monday that not only am I a certified fitness trainer but that I was the Nurse Educator for the ICU/ER for years, that I am highly skilled in identifying and caring for people in distress and to be able to identify, assess and put skills into action to care for them.
On Monday, a new client I had never met prior to the week before was walking up the hill with Mrs. Glo who is also an RN, having walked/run the week before her 2-miles at 35:00 with no complaints or signs of distress. The client complained of mild chest pain 5/10 however was stating that her fiancé passed away one month ago from a heart attack and that she just thinks her pain was more of a panic attack or anxiety.
I noticed her posturing which told me she was in distress although she wasn’t complaining a lot. She would stop to take a few deep breaths. I started to assess her, checking her pulse (not regular), I asked a lot of questions and concluded that this was more than just a panic attack. I had my gym’s manager, Sherry take her across the street to the hospital. I told her what exactly to say so that they will take her straight to the back and start treatment ASAP, she was impressed that they did.
She had an abnormal EKG and lab work; they then transferred her to the main campus hospital for more diagnostic studies. From there they transferred her to the major hospital for open heart surgery. You are reading this correctly; this client had a tear in her aorta (largest blood vessel in your body) secondary to a history of high blood pressure.
Back story: The client stated she had been having chest pains for about 2 weeks off and on and just thought she was just grieving. Her doctors stated this has probably been happening for about a month. And that she suffered a heart attack just a few days before Monday.
I followed up closely on her daily even spending over an hour in the ICU with her. When I walked in, she was surprised to see me, a person she only met a week before. Her daughter hugged me so tight and stated, “Thank you for saving my momma’s life”. The client had all her nurses come in to meet me, they were all quite impressed with my critical thinking skills. When her aunt came in, she stated, “I don’t know if you know this or not, but your business is more than just a gym it is a ministry and I thank you for giving up your nursing career to save souls like my niece”.
I thank God that this client joined my bootcamp when this was all going on. I thank God that she was obedient enough to take my advice and to go the ER. My prayer is that anyone reading this will use her and all the other scenarios I mentioned as an example that we only have one life, and we must be good stewards over it. We must do our own due diligence in making our annual appointments, taking our medications as prescribed, eating healthier and being more active even when we don’t want to or feel like it. We must stop ignoring the signs and symptoms, walking around in fear of getting blood work done and we must remember you only have one life to live, so make the most of it!
Lastly, all these clients have one thing in common… a second chance. We must “Thank God” for life, covering and second chances. Don’t take it for granted. No Mess!
