Road Warrior
Carie Sauders has started to run and so much more, leaving her fibromyalgia in the dust.
Three years ago, Carie Sauders, like many women, was fully aware of the many reasons she should exercise: To lose the 30 pounds she’d put on since having her three children (now ages 10, 12, and 15); to help prevent breast cancer, which took her mother’s life; to manage her fi bromyalgia, a condition that causes chronic pain and fatigue, and that led
Carie to grapple with depression. Read Carie’s Story full story here.
Caring for the Caregiver
A busy mother of two, Terri Quinlan finally made time for herself. Today, she believes she’s a better woman for it.
As a stay-at-home mom with a special-needs daughter, Terri Quinlan found little time for herself and her own special needs—namely, to feel better about her body and release daily stress. Read Terri’s story here.
Priority Change
Multitasker Connie Kappesser now focuses on the one that that never quite made it on the to-do list-her own health.
Coordinating hotel events and banquets, Connie Kappesser knew what it meant to put customers fi rst. It wasn’t uncommon for her to log a 16-hour workday, sometimes arriving at 5 AM or leaving at 3 AM. Although she loved her job, her health paid the price; Connie had no structure when it came to eating or sleeping, and her blood pressure spiked so high it required medication. Read Connie’s story here.
Total Transformation
Nancy Love joined Curves in an attempt to save her marriage, but en route to losing nearly 200 pounds, she discovered that what she was really saving was herself.
Nancy Love walked into Curves for the first time choking back tears. A day after her husband told her he wanted a divorce, she started the circuit, motivated by the hope that losing weight might save the relationship. The more she worked out, however, the more her outlook changed. She realized she alone wouldn’t be able to fi x what was
wrong in her marriage but that she did have the power to transform herself into a happy, fit— if single—individual. Read Nancy Love’s story here.
Mother knows best
Fran Clogston didn’t set out to inspire her daughter, Andrea Harris, when she joined Curves. But that she did, making Curves a family affair.
Fran Clogston has overcome cancer (three times) and a heart attack. But in spring 2003, she wanted to overcome the weight that had piled on as her body had weakened and made her sedentary and feeling unhappy about herself. At Curves, she found a path not only to losing weight but also to improving her strength and restoring her self-image. Read Fran Clogston’s story here.
Indomitable!
Having never tried a gym before did not deter Louise Hartkopf, who has overcome a lifetime of challenges.
Louise Hartkopf was three years old when she was hit by a car, dragged 80 feet, and suffered extensive brain trauma that left her in a coma. She was not expected to survive. Three weeks later, Louise emerged from the coma. She was left with, among other injuries, limited use of her right leg and no use of her right arm. Her mother tried to prepare her for a life on her own, gently telling her that being “a cripple” would mean no marriage or children. But as with all the challenges she’s faced, Louise had another plan. Read Louise Hartkopf’s story here.
No stopping them
Overcoming cancer and the loss of their husbands hasn’t halted octogenarians Jessie Metcalf and Grace Lindenberg.
Jessie Metcalf, 86, joined Curves in the summer of 2002 after a year of chemotherapy for leukemia and bowel cancer. At the end of her treatment she was underweight and was left with what she calls “puny, flabby muscles” in her arms and legs. She knew she needed something to build her up. The need for emotional fortitude was no less important. While she was undergoing her treatment, her husband suffered a stroke and entered a nursing home. Jessie would feel engaged when visiting him by day but down in the dumps, she says, when leaving him in the evening and returning to an empty house. Jessie invited her friend of 25 years, Grace Lindenberg, 87, to follow suit. Grace is also a cancer survivor (breast) and had lost her husband in 1995. Like Jessie, she is fiercely independent and believes in doing what you can to help yourself. So when Grace saw how Curves made such a difference for Jessie, she joined, too. Curves is helping both of these determined women to add not just years to their lives but life to their years. Read Jessie and Graces story here.
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