SOPHIE Holmes, 22, is a fitness instructor from Shoebury who has the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis, which affects your lungs.


Here, she talks about being hospitalised at 19 when her lung capacity suddenly dropped from 110 per cent to 60 per cent in a space of a few weeks. This inspired her to take her health more seriously...by becoming a fitness trainer

 

"Lying in a bed on a ward in Royal Brompton Hospital, Middlesex, with a intravenous line in my arm feeding me antibiotics, I made a vow to myself to take my health in hand.

Up until that point, I had not suffered serious ill health with my cystic fibrosis.

I had been continually active and in all the sports teams at school and I had natural ability as a sprinter.

Seeing my health deteriorate so quick was frightening to me. It was while lying in the hospital bed that I said to myself I would do everything I could to improve my health.

Being in hospital was a real shock to me and one I did not want to repeat.

Before being admitted to hospital, I had been training as normal, riding my horse Otis daily going to the gym and doing sprint training. My lung capacity had been 110 per cent at my last check-up. The amount of training I was doing meant it was above average.

I had not realised my lung capacity was decreasing and I trained as normal. There were a couple of training sessions when I felt a little bit off my best, but I put it down to having a bad day and I just carried on and got on with it.

However, when I had a check-up at the doctors, they found my lung capacity had dropped to 60 per cent.

I was shocked because I didn’t feel that different. I was given antibiotics, but they didn’t work, so I had to be hospitalised for three weeks.

I was told I had been doing too much racing around and not resting enough.

While in hospital, I lost a stone in weight and the doctors said that when I got back into training I would need to also look at my nutrition.

I even trained while I was in hospital and it sparked something in me that I wanted to focus on my exercise routine so that I wasn’t in that situation again. I wanted to research all the things that would improve my health for the future.

The scare made me determined to really focus on training and devising the best routine for me.

It was then I decided that I wanted to become a personal trainer, so I could learn more about it, and also inspire others to reach their potential and beyond.

I put together a routine of cardio, which is good for the lungs, high-intensity training and weights. I had never done weights before and that became a new part of my workouts.

I also contacted Ben Mudge, a personal trainer in Belfast who has cystic fibrosis, and we discussed the best ways to train. He has been a great influence on me and my progression. I haven’t been hospitalised, or suffered ill health since I was 19, and I continue to train regularly. I want to inspire others to know there is hope for people with cystic fibrosis and it isn’t all doom and gloom.

I want to inspire women, in particular busy mums, and show them that it is never too late to start exercising and improving your health.”

To find out more go to facebook.com/holmessisterspt

DISEASE OF THE LUNGS
Cystic fibrosis is a life-shortening, inherited disease, affecting almost 10,000 people in the UK. You can’t catch or develop cystic fibrosis, it’s something you’re born with.  It is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder that affects most critically the lungs, as well as the pancreas, liver and intestine.
For more information, visit the Cystic Fibrosis Trust website at cysticfibrosis.org.uk or call its helpline on 0300 3731000.