After the birth of a healthy daughter, she has added a steady workout routine of running on a treadmill several times each week at home and taking Aquafit classes at the local pool. She keeps at it despite suffering from some lupus symptoms, such as fatigue. "My motivation is simply that I feel good after exercising – tough and strong!"
As for smoking, "I tried quitting cold turkey and it wasn’t going well," she says. "I was sneaking cigarettes. So I took three days off work, got some Nicorette gum, stopped drinking coffee because I wanted a smoke whenever I drank it, and went online to a group for quitters first thing each morning, which was the hardest time for me."
Five years later, she's still smoke-free.
Luana's winning strategies:
• "I only listen to music when I’m running, so that makes it a treat for me."
• "Don't give up if you fall off the wagon. If you slip up for any amount of time, just suck up your pride and do it again."
• "Have a good relationship with your doctor. Keep appointments and come prepared with any questions. Be honest and don’t sugarcoat your concerns."
"I learned a Russian martial art."
Although her range of movement and ability to work full time were limited by a car accident, Marie- Lynn Richard learned a martial art called Systema and found fulfilling employment.
How she did it:
In a Berthierville, Que., parking lot in 2004, Marie-Lynn, then 33, shooed her young daughter away from the back of their parked car, where the tot had dropped a toy. As she stooped to pick it up, another car suddenly pinned Marie-Lynn between the vehicles. "All I could think about was how my tiny daughter almost got crushed to death," she recalls.
Marie-Lynn didn't break any bones, but she injured her back, and her C-section scar tore, resulting in crippling pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, rooted in her fear of being injured again. "My shaky hands and legs meant that I broke all my dishes one by one and constantly fell, reinjuring myself," she says. "By 2007, I was almost completely handicapped. The pain was so bad that I couldn’t concentrate," she says.
Determined to avoid strong painkillers ("I think pain medication is dangerous in the long run," she says), Marie-Lynn visited an osteopath and a chiropractor who helped improve her mobility enough to work again.
Page 3 of 4 - read Marie-Lynn's winning strategies on page 4
