Yola

The people we encounter during our lives help to shape our thoughts, opinions and behaviors. I have heard recently that the 5 people you spend the most time with are who you turn out to be most like. Now I don't know if that is true or not, but I do think that there are certain special people who awaken a thought or a feeling in ourselves that had they not been there would have never happened.

Today was unremarkable, very much like most Wednesdays I woke early to prepare for my cycling and core classes. For the most part the same members came to workout with me. I even played the same music I used several weeks before to motivate the class.

Every Wednesday there is a woman in the middle row of spin class. She comes in quietly, takes her seat and begins to work even before class has started. Her name is Yola. She is beautiful. I cannot begin to guess her age due to the fact that she has kept her body in amazing condition. My only reference is that she has mentioned having a daughter older than I am.

As class begins and we settle into a nice warmup pace I start to coach form on the bike. Hers is already perfect. Around 15 minutes in I am beginning to see the signs of fatigue, slumped backs, raised shoulders and facial expressions you wouldn't want to see in a dark ally. Yola, however, has a slight smile. She is gasping for air. She does not back down.

After class, everyone files out. Completely spent and thanking me for a beast of a workout. I will see them next Wednesday. Yola follows me across the hall for my next class, core conditioning. This is where today separates itself from every other Wednesday. Today Yola is the only person who stays for core work. She asks with a bit of a sad look in her otherwise brilliant hazel eyes if I would like to go home. She wanted to stay and so did I. The last two standing we were.

We did 30 minutes of one of the toughest core classes I have ever taught. There were no "lower" options. She did not need them. We just put our heads down and did the work. And when it was done I asked her how she was feeling. In a slight Polish accent she replied:

"I am hurting. My leg is healing very slowly. The doctor told me that it will take 6 months before I can be 100% recovered. He told me that if I don't move I will not be able to move. I cannot let that happen to me."

Yola finished a bike ride with her riding group. She was on her way home with her husband. She noticed that the day was a beautiful as they get. Sky was blue, air was warm and she had not been dropped by the group. That was the last thought in her head before she woke up in tremendous pain at Tampa General Hospital.

Yola had broken her femur in 3 places, her nose was broken along with her right orbital socket. She suffered a separated shoulder and severe road rash. The damage to her body was extensive and devastating.

Today marks 4 months from her crash. She is still in tremendous pain, but she smiles because she knows that nothing can stop her. And she will not limit herself. Her mind is made of some kind of metal stronger than steel. It must be.

She made this Wednesday a day that I will never forget. There will not be a day that I don't think of her strength and determination. I will think of her, but more importantly I will put those thoughts in motion. I will do the hard things. I will not stop. Ever.