We have many extraordinary members at Michael’s Body Scenes, people who have overcome obstacles that might seem insurmountable to many. Although the gym is considered a place to regain or maintain health, for these members, MBS also became a source of healing at the emotional level.

“I could feel my body getting better and my immune system building during yoga,” says 49-year-old Marti Lowe-Altman, an interior architect specializing in yacht design. Marti, a striking blonde who has been a member for many years, was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer two years ago.

“I had finished doing ten pull-ups at the gym and I told my trainer that I felt tired and achy all over,” she recalls. “She sent me to a gynecologist and my husband Owen and I heard the shocking verdict several days later.”

Marti’s feelings ran the gamut of shock to numbness to living each day as if it were the worst nightmare. And with less than a two percent chance of survival, this advanced cancer was truly an overwhelming enemy to face, especially for a woman who has lived her life as an athlete.

The cancer had spread everywhere so surgery was not an option. Marti was told by experts in other cancer centers across the country that there was no reason for her to travel afar for treatment.

“They told me I’d be better off dying close to my family,” she recalls. “And I guessed they were right. But the moment I sat in the chair to receive my chemotherapy, I developed a single focus. I would survive. I envisioned myself surviving and that was that.”

Throughout the months of chemo and radiation, Marti missed few yoga classes. Her athleticism shone through even the most trying moments, when nausea often overcame her. Her friends at the gym created a special quilt for Marti signifying gifts in her life. Others brought caps to wear in cold, hospital waiting rooms.

“There were definitely dark days when I couldn’t raise my head,” she says. “I’d call my friends and say ‘I just cannot live this way.’”

She realized that her strong body and determination were factors in her survival as was the support of her extensive family and husband Owen, who managed to find humor in even the bleakest times.

“Doing yoga brought me hope and the practice of gratitude we follow helped me realize that I had been given a gift,” she says. “I was given a strong body and I would not die.”

A year later, Marti celebrated her battle with cancer inviting all those who journeyed with her to join in her freedom from the disease.

“It’s not that I don’t fear recurrence,” she says. “That feeling is with me all the time. But last month I went snowboarding for the first time. As I made it down the hill, I stood at the bottom and cried. I called my mother and told that here I was, at age 49, snowboarding for the first time. I thanked her for giving me those genes to make it through the darkest tunnel.”

“I believe you have to fight cancer on so many different levels. Spiritually, medically, nutritionally and physically. I believe being physically fit before starting treatment definitely gave me an advantage to withstand this grueling treatment. I am thankful to MBS for making all the workouts fun over the years.”

“Having said all this —cancer is still such an ugly disease and it continues to take the best of the best, even though they did all the right things to survive. We need to find a cure and wipe it out in our lifetime!”

SLOW AND STEADY PROGRESS

Jodi McMasters, 35, suffered a terrible car accident in November of 2003. The MBS member was in a coma for a month and then bedridden for many more.

“I was an active scuba diver before the accident,” she recalls. “And here I was in bed with a very grim prognosis of recovery.”

Gradually, McMasters went from a hi-back wheel chair to a regular wheelchair. With therapy she then graduated to a walker, then a cane.

“Now I don’t even use my cane when I’m at home,” she says. Through all the hardship and pain, McMasters insisted on continuing her volunteer effort bringing groceries to the needy on Thanksgiving Day.

“Everyone should have a great dinner on Thanksgiving” she says. She co-ordinates the annual Palm Beach County Basket Brigade, bringing much needed cheer to those who can’t afford a holiday meal.

She credits the tremendous support and knowledge of APTA, the physical therapy arm of MBS for getting her better so quickly.

“They give you 100 percent of their effort and make better progress than in other facilities,” she says. “I love using the gym equipment to work on my therapy because I’m around all kinds of people. It makes me feel more normal. And as corny as it sounds, I met Michael Papamichael in person and his caring nature made the world of a difference to me.”

HE’LL RUN AGAIN

Normalcy was another point made by 65-year-old Sam Levine. The retired social worker moved to Boca Raton from New York three years ago and continued his passion for running.

“I’ve been running for 25 years and I was really good at it,” he said. But a car veered and hit him 22 years ago, injuring his ankle.

“The doctors told me not to run,” he says. “They said it was the worst fracture they had ever seen. I had three operations but it was still not right. They even wanted me to see a psychiatrist because I refused to turn in my running shoes.”

But Levine was determined to continue his daily 65 minute run. Those of us who live in Boca Del Mar have often watched the slender, steady runner go through his paces along Palmetto Park Road down to 18th Street.

“I ran with a limp because I had run on the outer edge of my injured right foot,” he explains. The condition got progressively worse and each year he’d ask his orthopedic surgeon if there was anything new that could correct the ankle.

“Finally last year, Dr. Eric Shapiro told me about this guy who had a new procedure,” Levine says. He went to see Dr. Mark Bromson who confirmed that he could help him.

“The operation was grueling,” Levine recalls. “But three days later my wife Stephanie drove me to Michael’s and I worked out on the Sprint upper body ergometer. I could get my heart rate up! It was such a relief to feel normal again!”

Levine says that going to MBS was his anchor and he expects to be running faster than ever in a few months time.

“I’ve never belonged to such a wonderful gym,” he says. “The people encouraged me. I looked around at some of the members who were in far worse shape than I was and I stopped feeling sorry for myself.”

DREAMS COME TRUE

When I first wrote about Kim Scholtes several years ago, I called my story “shattered dreams.” Kim’s body had been literally shattered after a devastating auto accident. It took her months to learn to walk again and years to overcome the handicap of so many screws and pins holding her hip together.

But Kim, 38, persevered along with Michael Frank’s constant assistance and training. Today, she’s a personal trainer and every bit as healthy and fit as she was before the tragedy.

“I’ve always been a glass half full kind of person,” she says. “I never set limits for myself and I never had a doubt that I would succeed.”

Kim’s personal experience has made her a more empathetic and compassionate person and trainer, she says.

“When someone comes to me who has had an injury or hip replacement, I truly know what they’re going through,” she says. One of the most poignant points she made during our first interview was that both she and her daughter Madison had to learn to walk together. Madison, who is now a tall and lovely young lady, was only five months old when Kim was hit by a driver who ran a red light.

“I think you need to surround yourself with positive people,” she says. “Your body is an amazing creation. It can do pretty much whatever you want it to do.”

Kim’s goal as a trainer is to make life easier for her clients.

“I know what it’s like not being able to change a light bulb or reach those high spaces,” she says. “I want to show them that if I can