Love and loss

Being on a journey with the one you love creates an amazing bond. The love and support are awesome and there is always someone there that keeps you grounded. Today's Wicked Inspiring Wednesday is a story of a journey of Rebecca and her hubby. Together they have lost 220 pounds!!! You guys rock! 

I am a mom of 2-A little Girl 3 1/2 and a Boy 18 Months.  I work full time and my husband works full time also, but on an opposite shift so we are very busy!  

Both my husband (Scott) and I were always the heavy kid growing up. Always overweight as long as we can remember.  We had tried just about everything that was out there to try to lose weight.  But it was always a yo-yo and nothing really ever stuck.  Well one day my husband came home and said, I'm tired of being the fat guy and that evening he joined Weight Watchers and started at the gym the very next morning!  He was determined to run a 5K-It was a small goal.  After the gym, he said it was so much harder that he thought. He couldn't even run for 30 seconds slowly because he was breathing so heavy. So, he was determined, he started walking, caught his breath, and then run until he couldn't breathe again, then walk.  I was proud of him for trying.  He started out very strong.  He woke up early to go the gym, he also went after work.  I went with him after work, but I could only walk slowly, as I was expecting at the time.  He was doing great!  Making slow progress to run longer and longer and weight was dropping off.  He was so committed even though I could only do so much with him.  

We had a rough patch, I was put on bed rest at home due to complications of my pregnancy, and then also ended up on hospital bed rest and was rushed for an emergency C-section for having a seizure.  At the same time of my C-section, my dad was being admitted to the same hospital for an accident that happened at home.  He had parkinson's and was stubborn and was up walking when he shouldn't have been and fell.  He broke his femur.  My son was born 4 weeks early but healthy.  My dad ended up needing to have surgery the next day because his bone had shattered.  Even though we were in the same hospital it wasn't possible to see each other, as both of our conditions gave us limits at the time.  My sister and mom was able to take him pictures to see his first grandson.  The next day as I was starting to get better, the nurses informed me my dad had at some point stopped breathing that morning and he had to be put on a machine, something he never believed in.  Unfortunately, the prognosis was not good and his health continued to dwindle.  My dad ended up passing away 6 days after my son was born, never to see him in person.  I was unable to see my dad the way I had knew him and remembered him.  Even though he was still alive, he was already gone.  Devastated and having to deal with so much after a major surgery was rough.  I was determined to finally do something to turn my health around in memory of him and to help support my husband in his own journey too.  

As soon as I was able to, I too got on board.  It took a very long time for me to run, as it took me a long time to heal properly after my c-section.  I did it though.  I ran my first 5K and I couldn't run the entire way, I had to walk and run and walk and run.  my time was awful per say and I was upset, but my husband grounded me.  He said, Look where we are today.  Look where we have come from, what we have over come and I am not leaving your side.  We will do this together!  He was running along by my side, and let me finish just ahead of him.  It was my first 5K, but his second.  I then decided, I have to just stick with this.  The more I "trained" the more I realized, it is rewarding in itself.  I have to be honest, my husband love the thrill and at one point I even told him, I can work out but I don't know if I'm even cut out to be a "runner" per say.  However, after some time, we found another local race 6 months later and signed up.  It was March, I thought winter was over, oh no...it SNOWED while we were running, I was cold.  BUT WE DID IT TOGETHER AGAIN!  

My husband found another race and it came with a really cool medal.  Well, the 10K did anyways, but the 5K, not so much. So we decided, lets just try the 10K, and see how we do, We would walk if we needed to and finish walking if we HAD to, but just wanted to see how we would do. Well, one thing led to another, and by the end of this summer, we signed up and did a 10 MILER!  We just completed our first half marathon, and before we even did it, on the drive there (2.5 hours away) found another half marathon next weekend that was unique. This race would cover 11 bridges in 13.1 miles and the go over an old covered wooden bridge.  The medal is a wooden carved wooden covered bridge.  So, on my phone I registered us for another half marathon!  We already have another one scheduled at the end of october and also signed up to do a full marathon in November.  My husband really wants the medal, but I told him, I just want to see if we can do it.  I want to try.  If we don't finish, then we don't finish, but I will try my best to complete it.  Scott says, but I really want that medal, so I said, then we will complete it!  He is still thinking of maybe switching to the half instead of the full, but I am going to stand my ground and try to go for the full.  I think we are addicted though.  It is super hard to find time to run with the kids, and work and schedules!  It all gets in the way!  I hate that work cuts into my running time! LOL  So we are doing our best to manage and try to get some more consistent running in over the next couple of months as we get closer to the full marathon.  

In this entire process, we have lost about 220lbs total combined.  I am not at my goal but I'm within my healthy weight range. Scott is at his goal and feels he is where he wants to be weight wise.  He has been able to maintain for the last 4 months.  I have been stuck for the last 2 months, but fear it may be my body just trying to say I'm where I should be.  Scott again, tries to keep me grounded.  Look where we have come from and what we are doing.  The body is an amazing thing, it truly is.  

The funny thing is too, that I sometimes I don't recognize the people in the recent pictures.  I don't feel like I look "that trim/lean" just yet.  

Thank you for letting me share my story.