Watch this inspiring story of a son, his wife and their father. Three lives bonded by family, love and the will to swim through life together…one mile, one day, at a time.
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LA Fitness is committed to making a difference in its communities, and recently donated $1,000 to the Fountain Valley Schools Foundation. This donation will help provide enrichment activities, such as computer...
“My doctor said I would never be able to walk again,” Joel explains during an interview as he sits on a bike in the cycling class room of an LA Fitness in Oceanside, California. So how did he end up getting on a bike and taking a cycling class? After several years...
Watch this inspiring story of a son, his wife and their father. Three lives bonded by family, love and the will to swim through life together…one mile, one day, at a time.
After being bound to a wheelchair for 22 years, Joel is taking his first steps to get out of it.
The Accident…
In July of 1991, Joel was riding his motorcycle over to a friend’s house when a car struck him. He was just two blocks away from his destination on a suburban side street. “The impact was so forceful that I tore my aorta, which is the main valve coming off of your heart,” Joel said. “I also punctured my colon; it was pierced by the handle bars. I was bleeding and dying internally.” Joel recalls going in and out of consciousness as the paramedics rushed to get him into the ambulance and to the hospital for emergency surgery to save his life. “I had eight or nine surgeons that worked on me, and I had a two to three percent chance to live,” Joel said. “When I woke up from surgery, I had a colostomy bag; a third of my colon was gone.” The incident left Joel paralyzed from the waist down; he was 19-years-old at the time. “The lack of blood to my spinal cord caused my paralyses; my doctor told me that I would never walk again” Joel said.
Progress…
“Two years after the surgery, my colon healed and I was able to get rid of the colostomy bag,” Joel said. This was a relief for Joel, and a sign that his body was finally healing. “I am a T10 incomplete paraplegic,” Joel said. “So after a while, after the accident, I could get up and stand for short periods of time with the help of a walker. Since his paralysis is considered “incomplete,” Joel can detect some feeling and sensation in the upper part of his legs. “As you move up my quads (thighs), I can feel more the closer you get to my waist,” Joel said. “At my waist my feeling is 100 percent. I’m lucky that the damage happened so low on my spinal cord; as you move higher up it causes more paralysis, and affects more limbs.” What Joel is referring to, when he says “T10,” is the location of the injury along his spine. It is the section of the spinal cord that is located at the tenth vertebrae of his thoracic spine, which is roughly in the area of his waistline or belly button. Joel became more active, and found a love for skiing when he was introduced to an organization that sponsored paraplegics in order to help them with the cost of equipment, transportation and lift tickets. As he got older, however, his responsibilities and priorities changed. Joel was no longer skiing and over the course of several years he gained a considerable amount of weight. “I went to the doctor one day and found out that my cholesterol and blood pressure were high,” Joel said. “I was 36 years old at the time. I was still a young man, and I was too young to have these issues.”
It was time to make a change…
“I made a huge diet change,” Joel said. “I stopped eating red meat, which the doctors always said I should do anyways because of my colon, and I just ate fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables and salads. Oh, and I also cut out drinking beer (laughs). That’s when I joined LA Fitness, too. I joined because it was close to my house and it had a pool. I wanted to start swimming for exercise.” Joel’s determination paid off, and his results happened faster than he had even hoped. “Within a month I started losing weight,” Joel said. “After five months I ended up losing 50 pounds.” After months of committing to a new healthy lifestyle, not only did Joel lose weight, but his cholesterol and blood pressure dropped to healthy levels as well. It has been a few years now since Joel initially began swimming for exercising, changed his diet and lost weight. “After I lost the weight and dropped my blood pressure and cholesterol I thought to myself ‘I wonder what else I can do if I keep exercising…I wonder how far I can go?’” Joel said.
How far he takes it, and what he accomplishes next is nothing short of amazing. BUT, you will have to come back to read about that in the next segment of Joel’s REAL STORY. Learn how to effortless follow REAL STORIES and LIVING HEALTHY.
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The year is wrapping up, and in its wake, it leaves behind some remarkable and inspiring stories of fitness and weight loss. There are so many of you who have accomplished great feats of your own this year, and REAL STORIES was able to follow the journey and share 15 diverse stories of LA Fitness members.
Check out the REAL STORIES year in review below for another chance to be inspired. If you feel like 2014 is the year that you are going to accomplish amazing things with your personal health and fitness goals, you’re an LA Fitness member and you want to share your journey with world…Let us know! Email us at socialmedia@lafitness.com. We are always looking for new and diverse stories to share with our readers.
The 15 REAL STORIES of 2013:
1) Chrissy – One of our longest ongoing stories is Chrissy’s REAL STORY. Her story began with a journey to get back in shape after her pregnancy. After a dirt-bike accident at the end of 2012, however, Chrissy found herself on a new path. In 2013 Chrissy found herself on the road to recovery. Check out her REAL STORY of determination here:
2) Karrie – She lost 90 pounds and decided that she would embark on a journey to do something she never thought possible…run a marathon! See if she crosses the finish line in 2014, but in the meantime follow her REAL STORY from the very beginning. Click the link below to read Karrie’s REAL STORY.
3) Alvaro – REAL STORIES gets an exclusive interview with number three world ranked professional racquetball player, Alvaro Beltran. Alvaro talks about health, fitness, conditioning and why he uses LA Fitness as his home court to practice and train for competition.
4) Shannon – Her weight loss journey is all about staying the course for the long haul and it worked. Shannon lost over 100 pounds and she continues working hard today. Look for an update to her uplifting story in 2014.
5) Joey – Her whole outlook on life has changed as a result of what she has accomplished with health and fitness. Joey is hooked on the lifestyle and credits much of her success and love for working out to LA Fitness group fitness classes and running.
6) Bill – The title says it all…Bill’s story is 93 years-old and 100 percent pure inspiration. Take a minute and a half out of your day to watch this video segment; you will be happy you did.
7) Denita – We began Denita’s story following her as an Atlanta Falcon’s cheerleader in 2012 and closed out with her finale as a competitor at the Arnold Classic fitness competition in 2013. She is constantly doing something interesting, so be on the lookout for more from her in the future.
8) Clay – His journey was the first ever REAL STORIES published when LIVING HEALTHY first launched in 2012 and he is still as active as ever. Nothing can keep Clay from being healthy and active, and if you don’t believe it, see it here in his 2013 REAL STORIES update.
9) James – Law enforcement, fitness and a great smile. James’ REAL STORY is relatively new and there is more to come from him in 2014. He offers an inside look at how fitness effects and helps someone in law enforcement both mentally and physically.
10) Joe – We have all heard about how losing weight and being active can improve your health; particularly when it comes to type 2 diabetes. Joe is living proof. Check out his video story to see what he did and how he did it.
11) Harry – Do you avoid the gym because you have never worked out and don’t know what to do? Well, it’s never too late to learn. Just ask Harry. He never even worked out until he was 57 years-old, and guess what? It changed his life!
12) Mary – Mary’s story is a true transformation. She feels younger, she’s more active and people aren’t even recognizing her anymore. If you haven’t already read her REAL STORY, Check out her incredible journey of weight loss and life.
13) Kira – A very emotional story, but amazing and compelling at the same time. Sit-back, bring a tissue and watch Kira’s video segment of REAL STORIES. It’s a heartfelt and uplifting story about a truly wonderful mother.
14) Scott – Who trains the Navy SEALS how to survive? Scott Brewer does, and as you can imagine his life is incredibly interesting. Look for more amazing REAL STORIES from Scott next year.
15) Beth – A nontraditional path to college athletics, but that is Beth in a nutshell. She is charismatic and dedicated to everything she puts her mind to, she finds her own path…and then she is off and running. Both literally and metaphorically being that she is on the Palomar College cross-country team. Learn more about her, college athletics and how she stays in fantastic shape in 2014.
Have a safe, fit and fun New Year! And keep LIVING HEALTHY in 2014…
Learn how to effortless follow REAL STORIES and LIVING HEALTHY. CLICK HERE and SUBSCRIBE today!
On March 12, 2013 Kira Martin went into labor with her fifth child; she had a boy, Lucas. After his birth, however, she experienced severe complications and almost died. In “Portrait of a Mother,” Kira recounts the terrifying 10 hours that followed and explains how fitness may have saved her life. This is her story. This is her second chance.
Even though she had lost almost 100 pounds, Karrie wasn’t entirely serious when she said, “Maybe one day I’ll run a marathon.” Well, she didn’t think she was being serious anyway. Immediately after making this statement people began telling her that she should do it. In fact, everyone who knew her believed she could do it…but Karrie had never ran in any such race. A year ago she couldn’t even run one mile let alone consider running 26.2. She was flattered by the confidence that people had in her, but Karrie had her doubts.