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Here is a "before" picture from my daughter's baptism day...9/16/07. I was ten days away from being told I had thyroid cancer. My mom is on my right & my sister in law is on the left. I was nursing (pumping actually), exhausted, achy, my hair was falling out, I couldn't fit into anything, I was quick to cry, and just generally felt physically disgusting. I weighed about 188, and at almost 5'9", I felt like a giant, huge, uncomfortable, tired lady.

Life Lessons Learned

One Real Solutions Reader Shares How She Almost Lost Her Life but Fought to Come Back Better Than Ever

I am sharing my "story," my "journey," my "tale" in hopes that other women in similar situations know that despite some crummy odds and seemingly HUGE challenges, you can achieve your best, most fit, and healthiest self and enjoy a great life.

The year was 2007. I was pregnant and on bed rest with my second child. My pregnancy was considered "high risk" due to my pregnancy-induced condition called "polyhydramnios."

Basically, polyhydramnios means that from week 20 on, my amniotic fluid levels rose to dangerously high levels. I was literally about to pop! Usually, amniotic fluid decreases as a pregnancy progresses. Reasons for it were varied but weekly ultrasound and non-stress testing showed my little girl, Maggie, was completely "normal" by all visual accounts. That said, my gut told me that all was not "typical."

A Scary Diagnosis

Maggie was delivered a week early due to my condition. Within 24 hours, she was diagnosed with Treacher Collins Syndrome. She earned her ticket to the NICU within 24 hours of being born. If you Google TCS, you will get freaked out. It can be very drastic, disfiguring, and debilitating. Lucky for us, Maggie's condition was and continues to be moderate. She is deaf but wears hearing aids.

Early on she had some medical issues related and unrelated to TCS. Today, she is a thriving, sassy, and tough little girlie who charms and endears everyone she meets. I am blessed….but the story does not stop there…

Another Devastating Diagnosis

When Maggie was 5 months old, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. What? Me? Cancer? I had to stop pumping (due to TCS with her small jaw, she couldn't latch and therefore couldn't nurse…so I pumped for 7 months to provide her the best nutrition).

This is one week after surgery. I spent a week in the hospital due to some major surgery complications. I was soooooo tired, but I've never been happier in my life. Alive & with my two favorite people on the planet—Ben who was 3 & 1/2 and Maggie who was about 7 months at the time. Maggie wears hearing aids and the little hat kept her from taking them out.

I had a total thyroidectomy with multiple lymph node removal in November 2007. Due to complications with my calcium and magnesium blood levels, I stayed in the hospital for a week…versus the 24- to 36-hour stay we had anticipated. That said…I am blessed I had and continue to have the best medical care from amazing doctors.

The "wake" from having a wacky thyroid then no thyroid left me overweight by 50 pounds, a complete metabolic typhoon, depressed with my hair falling out, fingernails that won't grow, and generally bloated and feeling unattractive.

I was tired, achy, but still happy to be here… happy to be alive. No matter how early cancer is caught or how "slight" it is made out to be, it is still in YOU. In your body. It coats every cell of your body and brain. The overall feeling when you are diagnosed is "get it the heck out." But, I SURVIVED!

Deciding to Make a Come Back

Spring 2008. Through Gold's Gym, I worked with the best personal trainer ever—Dan G. I am still in touch with him and can ask him anything. He was a "gift" for me. In his personal trainer wisdom, he told me, "If you want to lose weight, change your diet. If you want to change your body, lift weight."

So the first exercise he ever had me do was a barbell squat in the big scary squat rack. I haven't looked back since. And…squats are still my fave exercise!

Catapulted onto a Stage

Just two years later, October 9, 2010, I placed first in Women's Figure Overall Novice Class and Women's Figure Overall 35+ classes at the "Charm City Classic Bodybuilding & Figure Competition" held in Baltimore, MD. I knew then I was bit by the fitness bug and wouldn't be returning to my previous self…Then, on October 23, 2010, I placed 3rd in the Open Tall Division at the Yorton Cup Nationals in Bethesda Maryland, a pro qualifying event.

Here I am one month post op. My surgeon was awesome and you can see he did a beautiful job cutting my neck open and puttin me back together! We were headed off to go see "The Nutcracker."

A Crazy Competition Schedule

2011 started out with my desire to compete yet again, and I registered for THREE competitions in three different organizations. I started training in February and switched to a strict figure competition diet at the end of February. Though everyone said I was crazy, I thought I would see how much I could push myself and how successful I could be. I understand that each organization looks for different types of physiques and prayed I would at least place at each. Which I did! My first competition of the season was the NPC Max Muscle Classic on April 23, 2011 in Woodbridge, Virginia. I placed 2nd in Masters and 4th Open Tall.

I was given so many words of encouragement during that competition and afterwards. It was so good for my heart and my psyche! And I continued on.

The following weekend…. April 30, I competed in the INBF Natural North America, a pro qualifier held in Alexandria, Virginia. I truly had only hoped to place but was disappointed with the outcome. I had yet not to place in a competition and didn't place in two of the categories I entered—Masters and Fit Mom. I was pretty disappointed but the thought of leaving before it was over never entered my mind. I tell my kids they need to stick to their chosen paths, and now I needed to follow my own motherly advice!

At the very end of the evening came the awards for the Open category….Luckily, I did place 4th Open Tall.

Finally, on May 7th 2011, I did my "last" competition of the season… The OCB Richmond, Virginia Supershow—yet another pro Qualifier. It was a HUGE show with over 140 competitors!

Today, I am in the best shape of my life…ever. I eat clean and intend to keep it that way.

Looking around and knowing girlfriends who were also competing I had a feeling it would not be "my day." I had entered only one category this time as I knew I'd be pretty exhausted from competing so much! Happily, I placed 2nd in Open Tall.

Big Dreams

That 1st place/Pro Card remains elusive, but I am determined to get it! I walked away with some great feedback from the judges (basically to build more muscle mass and size) and have my path before me. Next stop, Yorton Cup ProQualifier in October in Maryland. I'm coming for you, Pro Card!

Training for competitions gives me a focus of purpose and a determination to succeed. I love it. I love the intensity of giving every workout all I physically and mentally have. I love the specific nature of manipulating and cycling my diet so I feel cleansed and energetic, and I love how things like a six pack of abs appears when you do it the right way! I love lifting weights, getting stronger, and focusing on my mission!

I am in the best shape of my life…ever. I eat clean and intend to keep it that way. I turned my workouts into my therapy, my stress reliever. And, it propelled me to a place that just a few months earlier had seemed, well…impossible. Nothing is.

I really feel like my experiences have taught me to live life like I mean it. I am a better mother, wife, friend, daughter because of all I have been through. And, I hope my journey helps someone like me see they can do it, too…