Often in life, we meet those people who defy all odds and amaze us by overcoming adversity at all angles. A person who is dealt a hand of cards and plays it the best they can, never letting what they go through define them, but being defined by how they deal with those struggles.
Born in 1947 with arthrogryposis, a birth defect that affects joints in mostly the arms and legs, Eileen Leahy defied those odds. It started with the doctor who told her she wouldn’t walk or live past her teens. It continued with a lifetime of physical therapy and determination. She proved everyone wrong while getting her nursing degree and working at hospitals including Boston’s Children’s Hospital.
I was lucky enough to work with Eileen for the last 11 years as her trainer, and I cannot express how much she taught me. Not only about life, but training as well. She was never afraid to try anything and through all of her physical therapy, always had ideas and exercises to show me to do with her. She pushed me to be creative and open-minded and with that, expanded my ability to train people with medical disabilities.
She was the client that always felt better when her workout was over. A person who was dedicated to doing whatever she could and was able to, in order to walk better, function better, live better, and live a better quality of life.
It was a humbling experience to hear her mention her 54 surgeries. To hear her tell me how amazed her doctors were that she was doing as well as she was. Even as soon as a week before her passing. Clients like Eileen are what keep me going. Results like that are the reason we get into this business. And not just the training, but the friendship.
Rest In Peace, as you are finally without pain.
– Tyson Sunnerberg
