GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Crossfit defines itself as “constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains.” On most weekday lunch hours, you could find Grand Valley State University student Lauren Ziegler at Crossfit 616 in Grand Rapids. Lauren decided to get involved in Crossfit years ago as to way to stay in shape and keep her competitive fire.
“I was in competitive sports all up until college,” she said. “I wanted to keep to working out because I think the human body can do things we couldn’t imagine.”
On December 6, 2018, Lauren’s life changed.
“I woke up at midnight,” she recalled. “I knew something was wrong because I tried to go to the bathroom and felt really nauseous. I tried to stand but I couldn’t. It felt like I was standing on a waterbed.”
What she was experiencing was a stroke.
“It was a huge hit to our community…completely unexpected,” said Tom Sullivan, owner of Crossfit 616.
Lauren’s sister, who she FaceTime called that December night, noticed that the left side of Lauren's face was drooping. Lauren was rushed to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. Meanwhile, her parents were hundreds of miles away.
“My dad was two hours away and my mom was on vacation in South Carolina," Lauren remembered. “From what I understand, she ran to the airport and said ‘I need to get to Grand Rapids as fast I can.’”
When Lauren arrived at the hospital she was in dire condition. “Given the size and location of her stroke, that and the extents of the deficits she had, her prognosis was relatively guarded when I met Lauren,” Dr. Michael Wheaton of Mary Free Bed Hospital said.
Following Lauren’s successful removal of the clot in her brain that caused the stroke, the road ahead would be daunting. She had to relearn how to stand and walk again.
“When you’re trying to relearn how to put socks on because you only have one hand to do it, it’s like, the weirdest thing ever,” she said. Lauren would have difficulty using her left hand and arm. But in true "Lauren fashion," she decided not to give up. Many people who suffer stroke do not recover much or at all. Lauren proved to be different.
“I hate to use too much hyperbole but when we talk about one in a million…she fits the bill,” Dr. Wheaton said. “She was doing a lot more with her legs and balance quicker than expected,” said Stephanie DeKryger, occupational therapist at Mary Free Bed.
Lauren fought her way to getting as back to normal as she could. She graduated from the Mary Free Bed’s rehabilitation program on January 25, 2019. Her next conquest? Returning to Crossfit.
Unbeknowst to her, her family at Crossfit 616 were launching an apparel line, aptly titled “Thank You For My Fitness,” with proceeds going to a donation to Mary Free Bed in Lauren’s name.
“Thank You For My Fitness is a brand and it’s a platform," Tom Sullivan explained. "The brand will be selling t-shirts and sharing stories just like Lauren’s where she recovered in just six months. From not being able to stand up or walk on her own…to now she’s running miles.”
The medical staff at Mary Free Bed believe because Lauren was in such good shape prior to stroke that her recovery process moved along much quicker than most.
“The physical fitness, also with the types of workouts that she did, really helps in terms of what is possible when the brain starts to reorganize itself after a stroke,” Dr. Wheaton said.
There’s one moment in particular that sticks out to Lauren while she was on her recovery journey -- she sat in the hospital with her mother when things came full circle.
“I remember being with my mom and her being like ‘Who knew that Crossfit would save your life?’ And I was like, ‘me.’”
Lauren is using her return to Crossfit 616 to not just get back to the condition she was in but to also use it as motivation for the other things in life, fitness related and otherwise.
“I hated running before and I still don’t like it,” she said. "But, I signed up for a half marathon because like I said -- I’m not just going to recover, I’m going to get better than I was before.”
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