PCG Member's Chance of Survival was 1 in 12
One in Twelve
“I am in the hospital and they just brought my husband in this morning. I’m feeling quite a bit better. He isn’t. My mother has it too but she isn’t as oxygen depleted as I was. I think she really is but is in denial."
It was 12:55pm on December 17, 2021.
Harriette. A hard worker with a quick wit, Harriette is the type of person people love to workout with and coaches love to train.
She had already been cracking us up first thing in the morning, three times per week, for well over a year at this point.
COVID.
Peak City Gym had its Grand Opening in January of 2020. We closed down in March and opened up 10 weeks later in June 2020 with precautionary measures.
Here we were in December of 2021 and up until this point, any member or staff that had gotten COVID recovered relatively quickly with minimal to mild symptoms.
Now we had a member of the PCG Family texting us from the hospital.
Although the exact date eludes me now, I can still feel the pit in my stomach and lump in my throat when I think about the update that truly crushed us.
I was standing at the front desk of the gym when two men walked into the gym.
The look on their faces told me they were not there for any information on memberships.
It was clear the older gentleman was holding back tears as he explained he was Harriette’s husband and the person with him was one of her son’s.
He continued that he needed to cancel Harriette’s gym membership as she was put on a ventilator and things were not looking good.
Anyone who has been to the 6am classes KNOWS this formula:
Harriette is going to roll in at EXACTLY 5:59am
As soon as she enters, I’m going to make a snarky comment
She is going to dish it right back with a grumpy scowl that won’t hold because her smile always breaks through
We go back and forth while she takes her place…
And then class starts.
It’s like clockwork.
Our banter is the unofficial warm-up to the warm-up.
Already her absence had been palpable.
Other 6am regulars were routinely looking for updates and now we had one.
It was one of the worst updates any of us could have imagined.
January 24, 2022 at 8:55am I received a Facebook Message.
It started out:
“I sure have been missing y'all! I’m looking forward to getting back. I know it will be slow going at first I may be getting out of the hospital this week. I can't wait to go home…”
I was just about to start the 9am class when I saw Harriette’s name pop up with a preview of that message.
I was immediately choked up with a mixture of joy and relief.
She provided some details about her battle and associated complications.
She mentioned that the doctors and nurses kept referring to her as “a miracle patient”.
Two weeks later we received another update from Harriette.
She was back at home, had been doing physical therapy (which she found just exhilarating), was able to go for short walks, and be without supplemental oxygen for a few hours.
Harriette admitted she could not wait to get back to Peak City Gym as she knew it was a big part of the reason for her miraculous recovery.
April 7, 2022 we received THE text.
She was coming back!
Her cardiologist had cleared her to come back with some limitations on April 6th.
At 8:34am the next day we were booking private coaching sessions to get her back in the gym.
Inhaler in pocket and ready to go, on April 19, 2022 Harriette came back to PCG.
We did several private coaching sessions building up her strength and stamina.
I’m sure there were moments of frustration as she watched her peers complete exercises and workouts she had been doing 6 months prior while she was off to the side with her special program, extra rest, and inhaler.
But none of that deterred her.
She came 2 times per week consistently.
Then 3 times per week.
Then we started slowly building up to where she could complete a few circuits.
Eventually she got to the point that she could get through a class and she re-joined her 6am peers — one of which was now a former NHL player.
Harriette has still been coming 2-3 times per week since April 19, 2022.
A little over 19 months after her return, not only has she been able to re-join the class…she crushes each workout and has been hitting deadlift PRs over 250 lbs the past few weeks!
Her doctors are right.
Harriette is a miracle patient.
She had a 1 in 12 chance of survival.
And she defied the odds.
Harriette had attributed her miraculous recovery, in part, to the work she had put into her health and fitness BEFORE she got sick.
And that’s why the day after she was given the green light to come back, she scheduled her sessions, and hasn’t let anything stand in her way of coming back even stronger.
I'll never really know what it was like for her mentally, physically, and emotionally to go through all that she did.
To be honest, we do not really talk about it.
There's never any (real) complaining or excuses.
Just hard work, consistency, and faith in herself.
I am grateful for the opportunity to witness this incredible comeback story firsthand.
Harriette's story is truly inspirational.
But don’t think for one second that her journey and progress spares her from my snarky comments when she rolls in at 5:59am.
And she’s right back to her quick-witted, grumpy responses followed by the big smile that let’s us know class is ready to start.
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