When 42-year-old Sam Neary began to experience numbness in her face and hands last January, she attributed this to her temporary desk job, a big change from constantly being on her feet as a nurse. Yet by June, the numbness had grown considerably worse, affecting the whole right side of her body and she was taken to A&E with a suspected stroke. An emergency MRI scan revealed it wasn’t a stroke, but that she had patches of demyelination in her brain. Since then, she has had two significant neurological episodes, which she now knows to be relapses and in May, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
With three little boys and having just become engaged, Sam was devastated. Deciding this would be the making, not breaking of her, she began researching how to fend off the disability, discovering how cardio and strength training can help. A friend recommended she try British Military Fitness (BMF) and Sam, from Bromsgrove, went down to her local park to give it a go. Since then, she has seen a massive improvement; in just two and a half months, she has lost over a stone and all of her MS symptoms have disappeared.
Sam, who trains at Cofton Park, Birmingham, commented: “I discovered that to halt the progress of MS, I needed to lose weight and that high intensity cardiovascular exercise would help with this. After telling a friend I needed to get fit, she suggested BMF. Once I gave a free taster session a go – I was hooked!”
Since joining BMF, Sam has not only lost weight, but has also seen dramatic improvements in her symptoms of MS. She said: “Now I train at least three times a week and cannot believe the results after such a short period of time. All of the symptoms I had that lead to my diagnosis have gone. In the last two months, I’ve had no tingling or numbness anywhere on my body. I have also lost over a stone, dropped two dress sizes and my fitness levels have rocketed!
It has absolutely transformed my life and I am now doing things that I did in my early 20s. It’s given me a new sense of hope and optimism for the future.”
“I have even signed up for the Royal British Legion Major Series 10km obstacle course in October, planned a canoe marathon in November and instead of a hen weekend, we are planning on tackling the Welsh 14 Peaks next year to raise money for MS research! BMF has given me the fitness levels and confidence to take on these challenges.”
Sam, who is an A&E nurse, added: “I feel it is really important to pass on the message that BMF is not just about weight loss and getting fit, but that it really does help with the symptoms, prevention and control of a huge variety of illnesses and diseases. I have so much to thank BMF for, and hope others give it a go too.”
“I also have thanks to a book by Professor George Jelinek, a Professor of Emergency Medicine and a scholar who has MS himself; his work made me realise that I needed cardio and not to sit at home waiting for my legs to stop working. Indirectly, he’s the reason I found BMF, and I am so thankful for this.”
To try a free trial class, please sign up at: https://www.britmilfit.com/try-bmf-for-free/.