A little bit about Dee…
MY STORY
In 1999 I first began suffering from hearing difficulties after a fantastic 10 day holiday in Thailand partying my ass off.
By 2001 I had lost all hearing and had developed Menieres Disease, a really debilitating disease that severely affects your balance among other things – life as I knew it was GONE. I had vertigo pretty much 24/7 – imagine being on a roller coaster every day knowing that you couldn’t get off no matter how sick or weak you were. That was me.
For a long time I was in denial, refusing to accept my hearing loss AND most importantly ignoring the fact that everything I was doing right then (partying and eating crap) was making my Menieres Disease worse.
My weight dropped – as well as my mood. My confidence deserted me . situations that I used to enjoy suddenly became a chore as I struggled to come to terms with my disability.
I was prescribed anti -depressants by my GP in addition to the countless other pills that helped me to function daily and keep my Menieres in check yet I still carried on in denial – partying, eating crap and wallowing in my own self pity
POOR ME
Up until my hearing loss, I had always enjoyed exercising – I LOVED walking my dogs on the beach. I spent hours training in the gym working on my physique. I wanted to be strong, fit and healthy and most of all be happy with myself. Eating clean and staying lean had always been my mantra. The stupid thing was in spite of my own fitness and nutrition knowledge, it still hadn’t hit me that everything I was doing … all of the crappy things I was eating and drinking were further adding to my health problems. I still continued training my clients but deep down my heart wasn’t in it – I was a FAKE.
My mojo was gone.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT DEE!!!
Time to start practising what I preached again… My lightbulb and defining moment came when I signed a new client – MARY
MARY’S STORY
Mary was 65 and had lost her sight in a car accident 3 years previously. The same car accident had also claimed the life of her husband of over 40 years. If this wasn’t bad enough, Mary suffered from osteoporisis and had a severely disabled daughter with no speech whom she insisted on caring for herself. A blind mother with osteoporosis caring for a severely disabled child with no speech…. How on earth did they manage??
I used to come away from each session feeling so humbled and ashamed that I had let myself down. I WAS LOST From that moment on, I made a promise to myself to have a positive impact on the life of every single person I worked with, bring out their inner beauty and encourage those who feel like they’ve lost their way, lost their laugh and lost their love for themselves and lives to find it all again…..
“Be The Star They Are”
I had to start with myself – learn to like ME before I could possibly hope to help anybody else. It wasn’t easy but my hearing loss forced me to look at myself in a whole new light and most importantly re-ignite my passion for fitness and helping other people.
Fast forward to 2011 …. inspired by Mary’s incredible determination and courage, as well as my own personal journey, I just KNEW I wanted to create something to enable me to take other people on their own Life Changing Journey.
I didn’t want to be just another Personal Trainer offering 10 sessions for X or 20 sessions for Y – I wanted to create an experience, encourage my clients to think outside of the box, RE-INVENT themselves, RE-WRITE their own history and most importantly CHOOSE their Journey Destination
The Result? Million Dollar Fitness and the Million Dollar Trainer were born…
Reach out to me, get in touch, find out more AND maybe, just maybe if you are an Action Taker – CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!
What Living With Meniere’s Disease Is Like …. From the heart
It is a feeling of being in a fog trying to make my way at times around a room and feeling relieved that I’ve made it to a chair – I haven’t fallen or knocked out some teeth to get there. Music, Songs – lovely songs that make other people so happy can be for me at times head melting and all engulfing to my ears. I want to shout, “Stop”!
I hear all sounds, plates clattering, doors opening & closing, TV, radio, voices … all sound crashing through my hearing aids, hurting my ears every day, all the time.
Taking out my hearing aids at the end of the day is a blessed relief – I guess just like when you kick your shoes off and reach for a glass of vino or a packet of biscuits. Relief – thank god I’m done for the day
Years ago, I loved going to on amusement park rides – even though I was s*** scared!! I enjoyed the buzz, the adrenaline, the excitement and feeling of the roller coasters
No more rides, those days are gone, the feeling is just like those roller coaster rides in my head daily – when I do get an attack of vertigo, it is the most horrific feeling!
When I walk, I’m sure people look at me thinking that I have had too much to drink, because as I am walking, I veer a little to the left or right because meniere’s affects my balance.
So, I am careful.
No more motorbikes
My life has changed because of this disease.
MASSIVELY
But to be fair, it’s made me more determined to become the best version of ME I can possibly be
I never know from one day to the next what will happen, however, I don’t get hung up on what if’s.
I choose what I can do and can’t.
It hasn’t affected my love for my family, friends and life.
It is a journey for me, I am enjoying my journey of life as best I can, however much I dislike having this disease
Faith in myself, courage, and inner strength allows me to deal with this every day of my life.
Live With Passion
Dee x