Life brings with it many hurdles, and we don’t get to choose just how high those hurdles stand. For Mary and her family, the roadblocks that disrupted their lives were gigantic. Through dedication and lots of hard work, they’ve navigated through these unexpected events and come out better on the other side.
The first blow
The bad news started in 2020. Mary’s 16-year-old daughter, Sara, had been sick for a while, feeling nauseous and battling constant migraines. Her doctors couldn’t pin down the cause of Sara’s issues, and her weight dropped to 99 pounds at its lowest point. Finally, they found it — a brain tumor.
The tumor wasn’t cancerous, but it was responsible for all of Sara’s symptoms. While it was a difficult road for the whole family to travel down, Mary talks about Sara’s treatment and recovery period as a blessing in disguise.
“It was relieving and scary at the same time,” says Mary. Finding a cause for Sara’s pain was a win, but the chemotherapy and follow-through work was difficult.
Once her daughter’s health was in the clear, the second pin dropped. Mary received a diagnosis of her own — stage 1 breast cancer.
Mary's new normal
Not even a year after the news about Sara’s brain tumor surfaced, Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer. To beat it, her treatment included a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and a hysterectomy. Needless to say, her body went through the wringer over the course of the next year.
Her motivation to prioritize her fitness journey came at the end of a rope. “I [was] tired with how I felt every day,” Mary says. “I was just tired of having the insomnia, of having the cravings for sugar. I was just tired of how I felt and I wanted to be a good mom for my children.”
Mary was adamant that she didn’t want her symptoms to impact her role as mom and wife. After multiple surgeries and hard-working recovery time, she was cleared for regular activity in early 2023 — and she was ready to fight back, for herself and her family.
“2023 is a new me,” says Mary. “2020 and 2021 were horrible, but 2023 is for me to get back to where I wanted to be. You know, I’m in my 40s, I’m not young anymore. But I want to show people that, yeah, I went through this crappy situation, but there’s so much joy on the other side.”
Recovery and renewal
Even with a clean bill of health, Mary’s body had changed. The double mastectomy left her chest muscles weak, and her hysterectomy jump-started menopause, which came with its own set of hurdles.
“That really screwed my hormones up,” Mary says. “Hot flashes, irritability, I couldn’t sleep … and I was like, ‘I’m sick of this. How can I get healthy? How can I help myself?’”
She turned to strength training and cites it as the No. 1 thing that’s gotten her health back on track. She says her time working at Anytime Fitness Kannapolis, NC, helped treat and even eliminate some of her symptoms.
“It’s been amazing,” she says. “Literally, within two months, half of the symptoms that I had are either minimal or they’re gone.” Mary’s also seen major changes in her energy and stress levels. “It’s made such a difference in my life getting to the gym every day. Not just for my physical health, but for my mental health as well. It makes my day so much better.”
A family affair
Mary’s outlook inspires everyone around her, starting those closest to her. Her husband, Brian, discovered an interest in personal training over Mary’s recovery period. The couple would hit the gym together, and in their off time, Brian would coach her as she practiced form. Their daughter is an Anytime Fitness member now, too. Once she recovered from her own treatment, Sara chose to prioritize her own health and build up strength.
Her family is a huge motivator that keeps pushing Mary forward. “As moms,” Mary says, “We have mom guilt. But I’m learning that I have to take care of myself to be a better mom to my children and a better wife to my husband — and a better person all around.”
Inspiring others
Mary is always willing to share what she’s learned along her journey with others. After her diagnosis, she started her own YouTube channel to document her experiences. Her channel’s main purpose is to help others find their version of “healthy” during their own journey with breast cancer.
“Mary truly radiates positivity,” says Meredith Reiber, manager of AF Kannapolis. “She is the walking definition of ‘making healthy happen.’ She’s choosing to make her health, mental and physical, a top priority through this entire experience.”
When asked what she would tell others thinking of starting their own fitness journey, Mary said, “What’s to lose? You might be aching the next day, but just get out there and do it. There really is nothing to lose except maybe some weight, self-doubt, or what you were feeling about yourself, and you gain a whole new you.”
Thank you, Mary, for sharing your incredible story with us! Feeling inspired? Start your own fitness journey head-on by finding a gym near you.
