What was your "wake-up call?" What, if anything, happened in your life to make you decide to take charge and change your life, get healthy?

Mine was in the early morning hours of August 1, 2003.

Mark and I were going back to his house in a nearby town. It was around 2am. We had been at my parents' house. That was the first time he met them. We had stopped by Denny's and ate then started back to his place.

On the interstate, we noticed a car tailgating us very close. As we exited the interstate, the car followed closely behind. We were on the highway, very close to his home. The car started to pull up on my side, but Mark turned left onto a quiet, residential street (a shortcut to his house). The car swung over and followed. We had not gone far when the car pulled up on Mark's side. I looked over and saw the window rolling down.

"This doesn't look good." I told Mark. He looked over just and the gun appeared in the window. Five or Six shots rang out, taking out the windows of both the driver and passenger doors. Mark was shot twice. He pushed me on the floor and leaned over trying to shift the car and get us out of there.

He slammed on the brakes and the car passed, stopped and the shooter got out. I looked over the dash and saw him walking toward the front of the car, arm extended, shooting into the front of the car. I will never forget his face.

I was terrified.

Mark got the car in reverse and we got away. As soon as we were away I started checking him out. He was shot in the arm and in the side. Blood was everywhere. I was covered in glass, but unhurt.

We flagged down an officer and the next thing we knew there were about 8 or 10 police cars around us. EMS came and tended to Mark. I talked to the officers. As they walked around the car, looking at the damage, they were astounded.

There were bullets in Mark's seat, imbedded in the door, in the console, in the windshiel - and in the middle of the back of my seat - about heart level. One officer turned to me and said, "Lady, you shouldn't be standing here right now. You should be dead. I just don't believe it."

Mark spent some time in the hospital, but is fine now. He still has bullet fragments in his arm, but it doesn't bother him much.

The next day I spoke with a detective. He said the kids were with a gang and had gone on a spree in the area. We were only one set of victims that night. He said yellow may have been the color of the night (we were driving a yellow car).

I will never forget that night.

I woke up that night. I realized that I was a lot closer to 300 pounds than I was to 200. I had high blood pressure and was in the early stages of diabetes. Why should I kill myself when there are obviously people out there who would be more than happy to do it for me? As I was on the floor of that car that night I thought of my children growing up without a mother. After the incident I realized that they were still in very real danger of growing up without a mother - if I didn't do something about it.

So, I hugged my children, hugged my parents, hugged Mark and told them that they deserve much more than what I had been giving them - they deserve me to take care of ME, to be healthy and to live life to the fullest.

I can't control a wicked person empting his gun into my car, aiming for me, but I can get healthy and take care of myself.

Life is so precious. It can be taken away in an instant. I had been praying, begging God to "make me thin." Well, God answered me, not in the way I expected or necessarily wanted, but he answered me just the same. He got through to me in a way that stuck. I can't think of a more effective way to say, "Get a grip on your life and get it straight."

We should have died that night, at least that is what the cops say. At the very least we should have been hit and wounded much worse than we were. God had his hand on us that night - and He still does.

Oh my God, Foto,
It's hard to believe I'm going to say this after hearing that incredible story, but you were both so lucky. I can't imagine going thru anything like that. So many things could have ended your lives that night. But you turned it into something positive in your life. Some people would have crawled into a hole of depression. What an inspiration you are. It makes me feel guilty for all the years I've wasted being overweight and diabetic. (among other weight related issues)
My wake up call should have been 21 yrs ago when my mother(the most wonderful mother in the world) died at the young age of 49 from complications related to here diabetes (type II) that she never controlled. She died when a blood clot travelled to her heart and she went inot coronary arrest. No one was home. But I was young and invincable at 21 and even though I had put on 97 lbs with the 1st pregnancy and was already prego with the 2nd, and had already been thru gestational diabetes with the 1st, I didn't wake up! Years and years have gone by. After 3 babies, and repeated yo yo dieting, I am now 44, overweight, diabetic(type II) with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Just like mom.
I don't know why hitting 44 woke me up this yr but it has. Unfortunately, I take 2 steps forward and 1 step back, so it's taking a little longer than I thought. But I'm exercising pretty regularly since 4/11 and I work on the eating everyday. I refuse to give up this time. I have tried several different plans to see what is right for me. I actually hope to start BFL by Bill Phillips when I get back from vacation in late Aug as I feel I am ready to take the next step. I'm down about 14lbs but the weight loss is sputtering.
My new wake up call, is your story. It makes you realize how precious life is. And you actually took the wake up call and changed your life for the better. How good you must feel about yourself. Thank you for the insperation. My boys are grown, all 3, they are 21,22 and 26 and still live at home and at times make me crazy, and I am going to make sure I give them all a hug. It's been too long.
I had a motorcycle accident, I was very lucky. But instead of a wake up call, it depressed me to the point that I don't ride anymore. The other depressing part for me was that I used up all my luck surviving the accident and I just shouldn't push my luck. That made for a very lazy me. So again, thanks, because I should have handled it alot differently. As you did.
Congratulations on your weight loss and your lifes gains.

I am sorry about your mother's passing. I know it was years ago, but so tragic and at a such young age, plus, we just need our parents! I lost my father to diabetes in August 2003. That was my second wake-up call. I was already into my weightloss plan, but it renewed my vigor and determination.

It sounds as if you are on the right track. You know, you can't look back and beat yourself up over the past. It is behind you. The important thing is that you are here now and that is a WONDERFUL thing. I am so proud of you to buckle down and make your health a priority. I know your family feels the same.

I won't lie to you, I still get nervous when a car pulls up next to me. I look, my breath catches and my heart speeds up a little. The nightmares are over, thank goodness. The rest will come in time.

If you ever need to talk or just need to bend an ear, I am here. You may email me, I think my email is on my profile, or PM me. I love to hear from people and talk to people. I love to hear your stories and learn what is on your heart.

I have been where you are now (and sometimes still am there!). I would love to talk.
Steph

I don't have a wake-up call like either of yours but just wanted to encourage you both to keep doing what you are doing. You both are an inspiration. It is so easy to get caught up in the mundane and trivial things of this life and to forget the true fragility of life. It can be taken from us in an instant! Or the life of our loved ones. It is a blessing to realize that, even if the wake up call is through a tragedy. Hopefully others can wake up to the preciousness of life through your posts.

Yes, life is indeed fragile. It can be taken from us in an instant. Maybe we all should just take a moment and be thankful for what we have in our lives. We are here, we are getting healthy and we are all helping each other.

We are blessed every day, sometimes we just have to look a little harder.

Foto, the woman who got out of that shot-riddled car was not the one who got into it. It is amazing! Spirit transformed you through that horrific experience, and Mark as well. That you are still alive is such a blessing, but that you have chosen to shift everything in such a positive way is even greater.

My "wake-up call" was an expensive business suit that I had worn once six months before, and I could not get into when I needed to wear it. I had known for years that I had to do something, and had even tried one thing or another, but something clicked when I couldn't button the waistband of that suit.

So sometimes the turning point is dramatic, and other times it is something pretty ordinary but still carrying an impact.

Glad you're still here!

I'm glad too! Thank you for your inspiring words. I feel I was given this opportunity to help others overcome difficult circumstances in their lives. Currently I have a support group for people trying to lose weight. It has evolved to quitting smoking as well. In my job I am in contact with people who are trying to change their lives. I work in health and fitness and I talk to people everyday helping achieve their goals, listening to their dreams, and just listening. Looking back, I feel that that was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Of course, I didn't think so at the time, huddled on the floorboard of the car! lol
I have been given the opportunity to see out of different eyes. My life has led me down a path that has given me insight and wisdom that extends far beyond the "norm."
I feel blessed, very, very blessed.

Sometimes God whispers to us, like a suit that won't fit, and sometimes He smacks us over the head, such was my case. I guess He knows the best ways to reach all of us!

The suit will fit, I hear your strength and determination in your words.

(sorry for the length)

Those are some amazing stories, you all are very inspirational.

My wake up call was last year- I was hit in a head-on collision while I was driving home one night. An SUV hit my small car, so it pretty much went on top of me. My right knee was completely dislocated and I had to have multiple surgeries on it, my toe, and my arm. I was in a wheelchair for a few months. I don't remember the accident itself- witnesses said he just flew over into me. It took a lot for me to get over it- I'm still not, because it's so hard to make sense of something tragic happening and being unable to blame it on something other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I graduated from the wheelchair to a walker, and from a walker to a cane. I practiced moving my hand all day every day until I could make a fist again. I've worked so hard to regain what I lost that people who meet me cannot believe how horrible the accident was- they only find out after asking what the scars on my hand is from (the other scars are usually covered by clothes.)

It definitely registered with me that I should really appreciate the body I have and that I owe it respect and proper care. Before the accident I drank like a fish, smoked, and did lots of drugs. I still have some vices, but nowhere near the level I once had. The whole experience taught me that I am strong. No one can lose the weight for me, just like no one could walk again for me- but I can do it. I started a Yoga and Pilates class 3 months ago and could barely move the whole time. I kept doing and drove myself harder, and now I have the flexibility of a dancer. A year after being completely immobile!

After I got out of the wheelchair, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer, and Ive been trying to help her take care of herself during the chemo. She said I was an inspiration when she had her cancer surgery because even though she didn't want to get up and walk in the hospital, she thought of me and it gave her the strength. If I can find the positive out of my tragedies then I've done really well.

My motto is- "Before you can take 2 steps, you have to take 1." It's so easy to psych yourself out because you get bogged down by the sheer amount of work to be done, but even a very minor victory is still a victory.

shells - that is an amazing story. you are very brave and very strong! it is also wonderful what you are doing for your mother; you are a great daughter. best of luck with your goals, but i have no doubt that you'll achieve them!