Debbie McEnheimer felt nervous walking into the Huber Heights YMCA as she wondered what her new fitness group would be like. Would the instructor understand her struggles? Would she be able to keep up with others in the class?

Her fears diminished when she saw a woman entering the pool with a walker. Debbie, who often used a wheelchair or walker due to her extreme knee pain, suddenly felt she’d made the right decision.

“These are my people,” she told her daughter.

Beginning her journey

Three months earlier, Dr. Blake Daney referred Debbie to the Move 2 Live program to help her lose weight and gain strength in hopes of easing her joint pain caused by arthritis.

Debbie had to wait nearly three months for the next set of classes but didn’t want to wait to start feeling better. She focused on healthy and clean foods, and by the time she had her first class, she had lost 40 pounds.

Move 2 Live program

Debbie felt better than ever but still didn’t have good mobility or balance. The course helped her improve her movement and continue losing weight little by little, modifying exercises throughout the 11 weeks to suit her fitness level. A nutritionist also helped Debbie learn how to better fuel her body now that she was regularly working out.

Although she loved the movement and nutrition part of the class, she mainly loved the community it gave her.

“Everybody was going through something different, but we were all going through something,” she says.

Debbie and her new fitness friends share daily motivational quotes with one another and continue to work out together. Currently in the Move 2 Lose program, Debbie tries to work out at the Y at least five times a week.

A new life

Debbie’s life has done a complete 180 since the Move 2 Live program and she encourages others to speak to their care providers for a referral.

“I’m always going to live with pain, but if I don’t move, I can’t move. That’s why I feel like that program saved my life,” she says.