“I Choose to Live for Today”

Debbie H. was living the perfect life until she was diagnosed with ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease. With ALS, brain neurons are not able to send messages to the body's muscles. Eventually they weaken, they twitch, and you can no longer control them. Sadly, there is no cure for ALS yet. But Debbie H. has an amazing attitude and a fighting spirit. After working out with Debbie Siebers using Slim in 6 and the Slim Series workouts, she continues to push her limits and build muscle while battling a degenerative disease. She has also lost 25 lbs in the process! Her inspirational story is in her own words below.

I was living a pretty idyllic life with my loving husband and our seven kids on a horse farm in Wisconsin. That all changed 2 1/2 years ago when I started getting a painful burning sensation and twitching all over my body. A few months later, my left calf began to atrophy; the muscles just began dying and there was weakness. I underwent a back surgery, thinking these symptoms were related to some discs that had ruptured in my lower back years prior and bulging discs in my neck. After the surgery, the atrophy in my leg continued and went into my thigh. All of my symptoms worsened. I was in a lot of pain and became pretty depressed.

My sister is a Beachbody coach and introduced me to the Debbie Siebers’ Slim in Six Series. I committed myself to the workout everyday for 6 weeks, primarily to gain strength and feel good again. There were many days I wanted to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, but once I made myself workout, I always felt better. I then moved on to the Debbie Siebers’ Slim Series and have done that for one year. When I do the workout, I feel as if I’m working out with a friend. I have lost 25 lbs. and have never been in better shape in my life.

I finally found out the cause of all of my symptoms over the last 2 1/2 years. One month ago, I was diagnosed with ALS. ALS is a progressive, degenerative, fatal disease that destroys the motor neurons which eventually leads to complete paralysis.

I’m not going to pretend to be positive all of the time, because I’m not, but in spite of being diagnosed with a fatal disease, and living with pain and weakness, I workout with Debbie Siebers’ program because it gives me hope and the strength to fight.

I really don’t know how much time I have left; none of us really do. I’m grateful that I’m strong now. So, I choose to live for today, to try to not get stuck in the past or worry about the future, but to live and love with my family and friends while I’m able. That’s all we ever really have that’s important: to truly and fully live in the present moment.

I hope my story will inspire others to never give up and fight for what they want, as the Slim Series workout has been a lifeline for me during this challenging time.