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Worcester - Member Of The Year

Worcester - Member Of The Year

We are pleased to announce our Worcester Member of the Year is Bernie Laskey. Here is Bernie's incredible story in her own words.

"I am proud that I manage to attend the gym on a regular basis, despite suffering from an incredibly painful and complex condition called Endometriosis, which affects my day to day life, and impacts my ability to exercise. Endometriosis is a fairly common condition, which affects one in ten women. Unfortunately, it’s poorly understood.

I wake up with severe pain in my pelvis every day. Most days are just about bearable, some days are so bad I can’t get out of bed, and sometimes it is horrendous that I can’t even stand up. It is these days that I find myself in hospital, needing all sorts of intravenous drugs and fluids to get me to a comfortable level of pain and to rehydrate me. I suffer with complications from the illness, which includes going into urinary retention, which requires a tube to be placed in my bladder for a few days. I am currently having an injection to put me into chemically induced menopause. I am 24.

Because of this, my right ovary is completely stuck to everything with Endometriosis and scar tissue from my previous 3 surgeries. This is probably the main cause of my endometriosis pain. After seeing my consultant, I made the incredibly difficult decision to have my right ovary removed. I'm 24 and have no children, so it was the hardest decision I had to make, as there is no guarantee that this will help my pain. I was told I had to lose weight for this to happen. So I decided to join the gym.

I was absolutely terrified and almost turned to go back home as I was walking to my induction. I was met by Jonny, who welcomed me with a smile and quickly made me feel at ease. Since my gym induction, I haven't looked back, and I come as often as I can. I started doing aqua aerobics too every week which is a class I can do easily with my pain. And I attend RACE with Dino on a Tuesday night, which helps you talk through anything stopping you from losing weight or exercising. I have noticed a massive increase in my fitness level. When I first started, I couldn't cycle for more than a minute and now? I cycle for almost half an hour. I have also seen a massive improvement to my mental state too.

Since I have started coming to the gym, I have lost just over a stone and a half. I have come, even when the pain has been bad, and I have learnt to push through the pain. I've learnt not to let it defeat me or define who I am. I particularly like to swim. The pool provides so much pain relief, and even a gentle swim makes all the difference. It gets to me sometimes, but most of the time I can do it. When I do need a catheter, it is reassuring to know that I can still attend the gym and use the pool. The staff are very supportive with this.

I saw my consultant back in November, and I've recently had a letter to confirm surgery will go ahead at the end of this year if I continue to lose weight. I'm incredibly proud and I'd love to thank all the staff at the gym, but especially Jonny for the friendly induction and support, Dino for always checking on me, Adam for his lovely greetings when you come to the gym and Sarah for the super Aqua classes and for pushing us all that extra bit further."

Huge congratulations to Bernie. What an inspirational story, from a truly committed member!

More information on Endometriosis can be found here


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