Julie Porras tried lifting her daughter Elena about six years ago and groaned. She told TODAY's Jill Martin that she let out a sigh during that time. Elena, who was nine years old then, told her mother that she was getting too heavy for her.
That statement and moment encouraged Porras to examine her life and make some important changes. Porras happens to be Elena's caregiver, and being able to lift her child as she grows up is crucial to her. She decided to visit the local gym to learn what she could do about her predicament.
Porras recalled that she talked to a trainer and asked for some suggestions. She responded by recommending Olympic lifting to Porras. That was a life-changing conversation for Porras as that kickstarted her transformation to becoming a certified personal trainer and bolstered her relationship with her daughter in the process.
Baby Elena diagnosed with stage 3 neuroblastoma
Doctors noticed a golf ball-sized mass protruding from Elena's back soon after she was born in April 2007. She was later diagnosed with stage 3 neuroblastoma. According to the American Cancer Society, it is a type of infant and childhood cancer that thrives on immature nerve cells throughout the kid's body.
Porras said there was a tumor in her abdomen that you could see compressing her spinal cord. Her condition was so serious that doctors made her do chemotherapy when she was just 12 hours old, the first time they had done so on a baby that young.
It was a rigorous procedure, with Elena undergoing four rounds of chemo that lasted five days for each infusion. Elena's tumor weighed one pound, making it huge for a 6-pound baby. While the chemo shrunk her tumor, she had to undergo another round of chemotherapy before surgeons ultimately removed the mass on her back.
Removing the tumor may have helped Elena deal with her cancer, but it also caused more complications. Pottas said that the neurosurgeon told her after her daughter's 12-hour surgery that Elena would be unable to walk as the tumor had left her paralyzed.
Weight training helped strengthen the mother-daughter bond
Apart from paralysis, Elena also experiences cognitive difficulties, also known as chemo brain, making her struggle with tasks that others can do easily. Doctors were not sure at first what Elena would be able to do on her own, but she has exceeded expectations, partly due to her perseverance.
Porras felt it was important to become stronger as a parent and a caregiver to help nurture her daughter's independent streak. Porras started lifting after that initial meeting with a trainer, and she noticed that her weight training had cultivated more than her muscles.
Porras said she got her mental strength as well as her physical strength. She said Elena is now 130 pounds, and she could pick her up. She added that she could do all the day-to-day stuff, whether showering, changing clothes, or anything.
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