Alexis Lowry
Alexis grew up as an athlete, playing basketball and soccer. Her active lifestyle continued as she studied kinesiology at college and worked as a personal trainer. If you asked 22 year-old Alexis if she would have ever gotten out of shape, you would have gotten a laugh and a "oh, not me" response.
However, life had other plans. After graduation, Alexis married her college sweetheart. Then began her decade-long battle with infertility. 10 years of infertility treatments only led to 13 miscarriages and a hysterectomy due to a cancer scare - at the age of only 35. 10 years of fertility treatments, numerous surgeries, and corresponding stress caused her to gain 50 pounds. Her body ached from head to toe. She suffered from chronic stomach pain, migraines, achy joints, and eczema.
Alexis got her first wake-up call on a family vacation. Her niece and nephew got pulled out to sea a little too far in their raft. The family started hearing some screams and saw fins circling the kids raft. Without hesitation, Alexis jumped into the ocean and started swimming toward her niece and nephew. About halfway to them she quickly realized that she physically may not be able to make it. Her muscles were on fire and she was out of breath. She was afraid she was going to drown while swimming a distance that 22-year-old Alexis would have considered a warm-up. When she finally made it to the raft, Alexis realized the fins belonged to dolphins (whew!!) and slowly pulled the kids to shore. When she finally made it back to the beach, Alexis laid on the beach exhausted. Then and there, Alexis made a promise to herself to get healthy. She could not believe that her bad health had put herself in a situation to almost prevent her from saving those she loves most.
While Alexis started to take care of herself again, her infertility struggles continued. She found out she had PCOS and endometriosis. In watching the video of one of her surgeries, Alexis heard the doctor murmuring, "so much inflammation...she's just SO INFLAMED." Alexis then did research on how to reduce inflammation in the body and realized how much what she ate was inflaming her. It was not until she changed her diet that she started to see real change in her body and overall health. While these changes did not fix her infertility, the improvements in her health did give her the strength and energy to keep up with her new life as a foster parent and mom (Alexis and her husband have developed the habit of adopting children they foster).
From that day on the beach to learning about the inflammation in her body, Alexis understands that how she treats her body affects the quality of her life and her ability to affect the quality of others' lives. God had given her this one life and this one body - it is her job to treat it with love and respect. If she wants to be around to love and help others, she MUST love and help herself first.
Alexis's family is her why. What is yours? Follow me on instagram @love_laugh_lift_lex or email me directly at CoachTripleL@gmail.com to take your life back today!