For Eve Woodson, chronic pain and discomfort were nothing new. Living with not one, but two forms of Lupus, discoid and systemic—Eve was no stranger to chronic pain and fatigue. But during a particularly painful episode, Eve experienced swelling in her limbs that brought her to the hospital. What happened next, no one could have predicted.
Due to frostbite from treatments attempting to reduce swelling in her hands and feet, Eve’s legs required amputation. What she thought to have been a short, routine hospital stay had turned into a life-changing event that would alter her health, her mobility, and her independence. Her stay in the rehab facility post-amputation helped her in the short-term but it wasn’t an accurate depiction of how difficult maneuvering on her own would be, “Once you get home, it’s different,” she remembers.
Thankfully, her husband, Sumo, had an idea: Surprise Eve with a gym membership. That surprise brought her into Anytime Fitness. Eve’s amputation compounded by her Lupus had left her extremely weak and Sumo knew working with a coach would help her get stronger and, ultimately more mobile.
“She had come off six months of bedrest, so lifting a 5lb weight for her at this time was very, very challenging,” Gary Ronning, Eve’s coach, recalls of their first coaching sessions. Gary started small, focusing on bringing movement into her daily life that would eventually help Eve perform simple tasks such as sitting upright on her own or moving around her bed unassisted. Those small improvements turned into something much larger, “We lifted weights, he showed me how to do stretches, but the most important thing that I wasn’t expecting was Gary started teaching me how to walk.” When they began working together, Eve needed her husband to carry her up the stairs, “After working out with Gary, I’m going up and down the steps [myself] now.”
Not only did Gary help Eve become stronger, but he also helped Eve advocate for herself with her team of doctors and care providers by recommending adjustments to her prosthetics that would allow for a greater range of motion and additional comfort. The bond between Gary and Eve has gone so far beyond coach and client, the two have built a beautifully symbiotic relationship, “She’s dedicated to work. When I tell her five more, she might give me some lip but she does the reps… She inspires me, she makes me happy and she kind of blows my mind with her progress and the things that she can do. I feel like she’s done just as much for me as I’ve done for her.”
What’s next for Eve and Gary? We can promise you they aren’t slowing down. Eve is just as committed to her progress as the first time she walked through the doors of Anytime Fitness and Gary is beside her every step of the way.
“When you’re going through stuff, and you see that it’s going to break the people around you—you can’t break down… I’m going to work hard and get my life back.” We’ll be right here cheering you on, Eve!
