The best superhero story you’ll ever read
The best superhero story you’ll ever read is … your own! And I truly believe that begins with how you move, cos it will always be in the background and cos movement is what we are as humans! And it almost feels like a sigh of relief to realise nobody has movement all figured out; but benchmarking, experiencing, re checking in and constantly trying to be aware of your own strengths, weaknesses, pains and carefrees (!) is the only way to achieve the superhero status that’s your human right.
My superhero journey
I survived brain tumor. TRUE STORY!
I was lucky in that I had barely two days notice, so no stress which I truly think is so much worse. I’d had symptoms but I was (still am) a fitness and nutrition coach and practiced what I preached. I wrote it off as dizziness. When things got really bad and I ended up ‘fainting’ in the emergency room where they sent me for a scan: I had a tennis ball sized tumour on my cerebellum and the brain surgeon would be down to talk about surgery asap. Ok, I said, clearly out of it.
The surgery was successful but my body had to relearn how to equalise with all the extra cortisol in my brain, which was now pushed down my brain stem, and I’d gotten so weak in hospital I had to also relearn how to walk. Did I mention my hub’s superpowers are also reinvigorating walking zombies?! I owe (love) him so much.
A month after I got home I received an email telling me I’d qualified for the NYC marathon following my Melbourne half marathon time only in October (also my first real dizzy spell)! And so I thought, if I can do the whole learn to walk again thing, I can learn to run again and run a marathon and NYC at that!
Luckily I had the next 5 months to do that and put my fitness and nutrition knowledge back into action. I ran that marathon, on the day of my brain surgery success, 1 year to the day, in 3.34min, fast enough to qualify me for the Boston marathon the next year!
I ran two more nyc marathons and raised money and awareness for brain tumour then the fourth year my hub was feeling his body was too sore and maybe we could do a surf marathon in Nicaragua instead. While there I felt ‘bloated’ and saw my tummy move! We did all the pregnancy tests and they were all negative so I started to fear secondaries or some weird parasite!
I eventually had an ultrasound and both the nurse and my hub gasped! I was starting to get scared again ‘wait, give me a moment. Is it that bad?’ The nurse replied, ‘I’m sorry but I can’t hide it; it’s a boy!’ Wha?! But?! ‘Oh, and you’re about 5months!’ Double wha?!!!!
I learned that you are your own superhero story a really hard but cool way! I'm glad I didn't give my power away to that disempowering possibility that I wouldn’t be able to (still) live my dreams.
It’s my mission to help people to connect to their current body, in all its glory! And to find a way to just begin because movement literally can change you: it can change your mindset, your mental health, your physical health, your internal alchemy and your external appearance.
Your superhero story
Begins today? How can you begin to feel good today?! Go on that walk you promised yourself, wrote down how you feel after and focus on that bit!
Contact Fitbynature here to begin with us https://www.fitbynature.org/contact
