So Glad You Found Us!
I am so excited to be here with you - Welcome! My name is Danielle, and I have been living with Chronic Illnesses for a little over a decade at this point. I am a mother to a rambunctious toddler, a full-time worker in HealthCare IT, and a Powerlifting Enthusiast! I had spent my entire life up until becoming sick being physically active, and for years, I was knocked on my butt. Steroids, immune-suppressants, anti-malarial drugs, and all sorts of alternative therapies had me dragging myself from bed to work and back to bed again...over and over and over.
Then...I got knocked up! I knew that life was going to HAVE to change, because this life (or lack thereof) would NOT work any more...but what could I do?
I was lucky to have a fairly "normal" pregnancy...for a spoonie, anyway. I had a weekly appointment with a Perinatologist, bi-weekly appointment with my OB, and a monthly appointment with my Rheumatologist. "Normal". After our baby girl arrived, and after a very difficult 4th trimester, I was actually feeling better than I had felt in years, so I used that to my advantage and joined a gym.
I tried everything and hated it all. I stepped on a treadmill. HATE. I got myself stuffed in a swimsuit (when your boobs are twice their size and full of milk this is HARD!) and got in the pool. HATE. I picked up some dumbells and copied the people around me. HATE. I wanted to take advantage of my pain being at a 6 instead of my normal 9-10, but what was I supposed to do?! Then I saw it. This woman, well into her 60's. She strapped a belt on, bent over, and picked up a barbell that had big ole' plates on it. And she was fitter than anyone I'd ever seen! I went home, and scoured Youtube and became completely entranced with women powerlifters. I found blogs about people who had chronic illnesses like myself who found their illnesses less severe after lifting. I saw people who had overcome so much who seemed to have these changed experiences. And seriously, how cool would I look lifting a big heavy barbell off the ground?! And thus...I found my happy place...
