He refused to go to the hospital that night. Instead, he wanted me there and to cook him my famous spaghetti that he loved so much. We ate, and after dinner, we just sat together and watched movies. He fell asleep next to me, and I all I could do was stare, and watch him sleep. The next morning he wasn’t any better so I convinced him to go to the hospital. When we reached the ER they immediately took Justin back. His vitals were not good and by now his eyes were rolling in the back of his head. After about an hour of the docs working on him, they called me into the room to deliver the worst news a mother could hear, “Justin isn’t doing well Ms. Whitley, he has Chronic Renal failure in both kidneys.” I couldn’t handle the news, so I broke down and began to pray.
After 9 long days in ICU and many prayers later, it seemed things started to turn around. We were finally released, but Justin had a long road of recovery ahead of him. One that included a few years of 3-times a week-dialysis before he was able to get on a kidney donor list. But then I found out that each dialysis session takes around 3 to 5 days off a person’s lifespan… It was then I knew I HAD TO DO SOMETHING!
This fact was combined with the reality of an insanely long time frame one has to endure to even get a kidney. Again, I knew I had to do something; I couldn’t let my son go through this anymore. So, I spoke with the transplant coordinator and they told me BMI was way too high (at this point I weighed around 300 lbs), to even be considered a donor. I would have to lose 98 pounds to even begin the donor testing procedures. I did my research and underwent gastric sleeve surgery in April of 2017. A few months later after starting to lose some weight, my best friend Michelle invited me to go try a fitness class with her at this place she had been going and getting great results at, called Training for Warriors (TFW).
I was immediately drawn into the family atmosphere and how amazing the coaches were. Everyone was helping each other out and having a blast doing it. I signed up that night. Joining TFW changed my life in so many ways; physically, mentally and emotionally. With the help of Coach Jeff, Coach Ashley and the students (we call it family) of TFW I was able to hit my weight loss goal (now down over 100lbs!), and start the donor testing procedures last November. Then, in February I was sitting in my office when I got a call from the donor nurse to inform me that I was a perfect match for my son! So on February 26th of this year, the day before Justin’s 29th birthday, we underwent the transplant surgery. THANK GOD! The transplant surgery went smoothly, and right after we were taken to our recovery rooms at the hospital, I was received with flowers and cards from the TFW coaches and students. It was an incredible experience.
For the following months we were recovering, Coach Jeff and Coach Ashley were constantly checking up on us. Since I was finally released to workout again, I have come back stronger than ever before, and my results are living proof of the TFW training system, coaches, community support and way of life…it works! Justin is also living a normal life, for the first time in many years.
I want to give a special thanks to Martin Rooney, for inventing Training for Warriors and spreading its message and vision to the world. The program you have made is saving and changing lives. Justin and I are living proof of that.”
Where Jennifer was before TFW:
- Hit 300 lbs
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Very low levels of energy
- Body pain, joint pain constantly
- Sleep apnea
- Pre-diabetic
Where Jennifer is now after 1 year of TFW:
- Now weighs 172 lbs!!! (130 lbs down)
- Normal blood pressure
- Normal cholesterol levels
- Tons of energy
- No more joint pain
- Sleep apnea is gone
- No longer pre-diabetic
Do you struggle like Jennifer did? We are ready to help! Join our 28-day fitness kick-start program to get you on the path to a healthy and happy life!
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