My First Article: July 08, 2010 Splash and Dash with Dorette Sommer-Franks:
http://www.moremarin.com/more_sweat/2010/07/splash-and-dash-biggest-loser-contestants-others-get-a-second-chance.html
Biggest Loser contestants (& others) get a second chance
Struggling with an injury? Is that extra 10-20 pounds getting you down? Caught in a rut, and lacking enthusiasm or motivation which would enable you to turn your life around and make a positive difference in your health? Or maybe you tell yourself "I'm not strong enough-- fast enough" and you don't realize life could be more than just "fine".
But what if life and how you were living it could be different? Do you dare to dream an alternative possibility? What if life's seemingly predictable path took a turn and suddenly your health, and lifestyle, was compromised?
Now consider creating new found health and vitality, despite how people relate to you, despite what doctors say, despite the odds. Those odds were stacked against just two of the fifty extraordinary individuals who will be celebrating and reuniting at this weekend's Tri-California Events, San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island.
Meet newcomer triathlete, Gina Cummings, a twenty-seven year old San Francisco resident who miraculously survived an unthinkable auto crash on Interstate Highway 5 and O'Neal Hampton, a season nine contestant of The Biggest Loser who's health and life were on the line due to the associated health risks of obesity.
In May 2003, Gina's life took a sudden and unpredictable turn. The then twenty-year-old, was driving home on Highway 5 from college with the intent of moving abroad. In broad daylight Gina's car was struck from behind by a car traveling 100 MPH. Upon collision, she and her car were launched (from one of the few non-flat places on HWY 5) down a seventy foot ravine. Her body was ejected from the moving vehicle, and although she survived, it was with extensive injuries. The extent of her injuries included a complete laceration across her right cheek, her jaw broke in three places knocking out her teeth, all her ribs were broken and both her lungs punctured. She was given a tracheotomy on the scene and airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center. The most extensive damage was discovered in the hospital- she had a laryngeal separation and her vocal chords had been severed. Even with rehabilitation, the accident left Gina requiring surgery every six weeks to clear the scar tissue in her throat. Eventually, doctors removed Gina's trachea leaving her with an airway 35 percent the normal size.
Now imagine doing a triathlon with your trachea at 35 percent the normal size. The road to rehabilitation has been long, but Gina is a fighter. Doctors told her to anticipate ongoing routine surgeries to clear the scar tissue in her trachea. It's been two years since Gina's last surgery and she credits her new breath of life on testing her breathing limits by returning to dancing and running.
In a soft, whispery voice, the former seven-minute-mile runner and soccer player, confesses her frustrations during her rehabilitation.
"I was not training because I was really afraid. It was really depressing to not have the capacity you had before and it's a constant reminder. It's frustrating to this day but I have to remind myself that I am lucky to be walking and breathing."
And that she is.
This weekend Gina will celebrate life by racing the Olympic distance triathlon at Tri California's events, The San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island.
