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Maximum Determination: A Story About Overcoming Impossible Odds
“Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”
~Orison Swett Marden~
At age 42, 5'2", 100 pounds, I have just started competing in fitness competitions, one on April 7, an NPC show, where I received 3rd place in Bikini and then last weekend in Minneapolis where I placed 2nd in Bikini and 1st in Model America!!! I was completely overwhelmed by all of it and I am still on cloud nine!!! Now I have new goals to receive an NGA pro card...and my ultimate goal would be to receive my IFBB pro card!! I am very new to all of this, so I am learning as I proceed forward!
I was always an active child and fairly healthy growing up, but looking back, I definitely had signs that were overlooked starting back to when I was 10 years old. In 1986, I developed a blood disease called ITP(idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura). This is a blood disease that causes your immune system to make antibodies against your blood platelets, killing them off as they are filtered in your spleen. My platelet count dropped to an extremely low count and therefore my blood would not clot, which became a life threatening problem. I was given high doses of IV steroids and oral prednisone, which was awful at any age, let alone as a teenager dealing with the water weight gain, horrible acne breakouts and terrible mood swings! This treatment went on for several months until it quit working and my spleen became overactive so I was forced into a splenectomy and exploratory surgery to try to suppress the immune system. This seemed to put my system into a remission for a few years.
Following high school, I went to college and developed more symptoms including pain and swelling and stiffness in all joints and muscles, butterfly rash(molar rash), consistent fevers, night sweats, chills, severe nose and mouth ulcers, severe numbness in hands, arms, feet, difficulty breathing, bloody lips, extreme fatigue, stiffness, achiness and weakness all over body, extreme hair loss, migraines and depression. I tried to manage my school work, teaching aerobics and working at the wellness center which became more and more difficult! I remember thinking how 
hard it was to turn the faucet on, or push the elevator button, or how I had to try and walk on the grass instead of the sidewalks to class and many days just to get out of bed was such a struggle!
Eventually I went home for the weekend from college and ended up in the ER, with finally a diagnosis of systemic LUPUS in 1993. Lupus is auto-immune disease which causes inflammation in various parts of the body, connective tissue, and organs. It is an overactive immune system which creates antibodies against itself which destroy and attack your own body tissue and cannot distinguish between the healthy and bad cells, so therefore attacks them all!!..Almost as if your are allergic to yourself! From there, things continued to decline.
Once the inflammatory response kicks in and the immune system becomes angry and overactive, it's so hard to shut the sucker off! My body began attacking the kidneys and then the brain and my entire body wanted to shut down! I had class 4 nephritis and cerebritis which caused many grand mal seizures and TIAs(mini strokes). Basically my kidneys and brain were being attacked! It was a very scary and dark time, difficult to express, wondering if my memory would ever be back to normal. My weight got down to 72 pounds including my hospital gown and blankets in my bed! I was unrecognizable! I spent many nights struggling in ICU and many months in University of Iowa City Hospital. During this time, my sweet grandma passed away and 2 weeks following, I lost my grandpa.
I had a wonderful team of doctors who decided to try cytoxan, chemotherapy to try to wipe out my immune system in hopes to reboot it...so to speak! I did several rounds of chemo and it took over a year to regain my strength, weight and hair...but I did manage to get some pretty awesome wigs:) One particular gratifying experience I remember is getting in my car, ALONE, DRIVING MYSELF to the grocery store and the feeling overwhelming .knowing I was getting my life back!!:) The simple things in life are EVERYTHING!
I got back into working out and began teaching step classes at Ultimate Fitness in Bettendorf where I met my husband and married a few years later. During the wedding planning, I once again became ill with kidney nephritis and my doctor told me I had to start chemotherapy before the wedding. I was very distraught about losing my hair
again, but willing to do whatever it took to get healthy again. My sister's church purchased me a spectacular wig for my big day and I went up on my oral steroids to get through the day. It all worked out, it always does! I proceeded to do chemotherapy for the next 12 months and during that time, my grandma passed, then 3 weeks later, my father-in-law passed and then 3 weeks later my grandpa passed. They say the first year of marriage is a learning experience, but oh my goodness, did we get tested!
The next few years I struggled off and on with symptoms trying to rest enough, take care of myself, eat clean and exercise. I seemed to be managing my illness at the time, until I was hit with the West Nile Virus! After the death of my step father, I had been bitten by numerous mosquitoes during the wake which was held at the golf course where he loved to golf. I didn't feel well for the next week, fainted at JCPenney, thinking maybe it was a good thing..hoping to be pregnant. Then blacked out at work and ended up in the ER. This again was a terrifying experience with so many details I could discuss! I felt as though I was paralyzed at times, very painful abdominal and chest pain, very weak, high fevers, seizures, extreme weight loss(down to 80 pounds). There weren't any medicines to help kill the virus, we had to ride it out. I couldn't see the light at the end and also contracted the CMV virus during the time. After my compromised immune system struggled for 10 months with this, my lupus exasberated once again and ended up doing chemotherapy again to try to shock my body into a remission.
The next few years off and on, we tried methotrexate(chemo drug), immuran(chemo drug), iv steroids, iv rituxan, cell cept(anti rejection drug), anti-malarial drug and of course oral steroids. I seemed to manage my health fairly well, won the local Dancing with the stars...until a flip switched on so quickly about 3 years ago and ended up at Mayo clinic in Rochester with heart problems and once again neurological(brain involvement). I was bedridden again for about 5 months and ended up having iv chemo treatments,continuous iv steroids to try to suppress my immune system. I lost 25 pounds..down to 80 again and all muscle mass:(.
The last few years have been wonderful! I love my career as a fitness director, group exercise instructor and personal trainer!! I love the gift I have been given to help people in their struggles and achieve their goals! I continue to eat healthy and clean and I have bee
n exercising harder than ever without fear, juicing, taking various supplements and feel so blessed to be able to do what I can do!!!
Life gives you challenges to face and we can only grow and become stronger from the obstacles we overcome. I treasure each healthy day and feel completely blessed and loved by all my support. I feel so lucky in this world and I would never change anything I have gone through because it builds character, faith and strength and makes me who I am today.
Sincerely yours in fitness & wellness,
Lisa L. Eveleth
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