Susan's Story
At one time I believed exercise was over rated, not a big deal. It was something I did not practice. At 51, after many years of a sedate lifestyle, raising four boys, high stress jobs, I found myself very sick. I had no strength, no energy. I hurt all over. I was overweight, well to be honest I was obese (I hate that word). I thought I was dying and to be quite honest I was so tired I did not care. I felt 100 years old.
My family physician worked very diligently to try to diagnose me. He ran test after test and sent me to almost every type of specialist in the Austin area. It took almost 3 years to find out what was wrong with me. My insurance company and I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. I ended up at the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, in the Rheumatology Department.
There I saw Dr. Zuniga. He figured it out. I had Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He added one more pill to the 30 a day I was already taking and after 2 months on the new medicine, he told me to exercise. I thought the man was crazy. I had no strength or energy. I couldn’t exercise. But Dr. Zuniga did not give up on me. He nagged me for 6 months and finally told me, “You are going to lie on your couch until you die… or you are going to exercise and hope to have a life.” For the next 2 months his words would haunt me. Finally it all sunk in; he was serious!
Finally I drug myself to my local Curves. For my first 30-minute workout I lasted about 8 minutes. Man, it was tough. But I decided I had to totally commit to 30 minutes three times a week. I had to see if I could make my life worth living. I starting working out in January of 2007. In just under 9 months, Dr. Zuniga told me I was well. Then he told me, “Don’t ever stop exercising. Up until 100 to 150 years ago, almost all people got this exercise in their everyday life. It was a matter of survival. We don’t anymore and it’s making us sick. Virtually every adult in the US needs to be working out.”
What working out did for me was incredible. I had forgotten what it was to feel good. I now know just how critical exercising is to our health. To be buff, svelte, lithe might be pretty cool and exercise can take you there, but to be quite honest, to be healthy, to feel good, is truly incredible. And to maintain good health exercise is a requirement.