One Woman's Journey Becomes Powerful Message to Others

BY ERIKA ROSE
Times Correspondent
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, August 29, 2005

Slender and muscular all the way down to her beautifully manicured toenails, Jen Adamo sits down to recount the incredible journey that has been the last two yers of her life. Scattering snapshots on the table, her demeanor is confident, outgoing, determined. Judging from her athletic apparel and knowing she just finished a 10K race that morning, it is immediately clear you're in the company of a dedicated athlete. Clad in a not-so-teeny black-and-white polka-dotted swimsuit, the severely obese woman in the photograph dwarfs the woman sunbathing next to her. You patiently wait for Adamo to explain the significance of this stranger in the story she's about to tell. "This is me in March of '03," the 32-year-old Merrillville resident announces. Any other woman who's achieved such dramatic weight loss might be inclined to hide or destroy what she likely sees as unflattering photos. But Adamo isn't embarrassed in the least bit. She is proud, in fact, because they serve as powerful reminders of who she has become and how she got there. Going from a 370-pound intensive care nurse with a penchant for internalizing others' problems, to a 163-pound rock solid endurance athlete has done more than bring her out of her shell. It has uncovered what she believes is her true purpose in life.

When she meets you for the first time, Jen Adamo reaches out to shake your hand. Strangely, her grasp is weak -- hardly characteristic of her strong, confident demeanor. As th the first surgery to repair her arm, Adamo, an intensive care nurse, knew the risks of having surgery were dire, especially in her condition. At 370 pounds, she easily could have a stroke or heart attack. Surgery aside, she knew a health crisis was imminent because of her weight. But until this point, she admits she just didn't care about herself. A tendency to take on the problems of others caused her to eat for comfort and protection. "Food was like an anesthetic," she says. "It was like a numbing agent." So as she was wheeled into the operating room, she pleaded, "Get me through this and I'll change." And when she was being wheeled back to her hospital room afterward, Adamo felt sorry for the nurse who had to push all 370 pounds of her through the halls. Now was the time to make good on her promise. Unable to work and determined not to be disabled, she made rehabilitating her arm, losing weight and generally transforming her outlook, a top priority. To change her eating habits, Adamo took advice from dietitians and concentrated on getting the food pyramid's recommended servings in recommended portions. After literally walking off the first 100 pounds, Adamo joined Community Hospital's Fitness Pointe to focus on building back her strength and was feeling better than ever when she experienced another low that threatened her positive attitude: the first surgery had been botched and two more surgeries were needed. At the same time, her medical leave had run out and she was losing her job. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she pushed harder. "I learned that the only thing I can control is myself," she says. "I had to learn to control my adaptations, my perceptions and my reactions because I was not going to let someone else make my blood pressure go up." She discovered indoor rowing as a great way to work her arm -- and her spirit -- so that's what she did for eight hours a day. She entered rowing challenges and set mini goals for herself, each one feeding into the next to fuel her success. Then, she learned about the North American Rowing Challenge and set her sights on first place, which she achieved. Rowing seven hours a day for 30 days, she topped the charts with 2,220,222 meters logged in a month. Publicity of the challenge and her plight made it to Upper Peninsula, Mich., where she was invited to share her inspirational story at a rehab center's triathlon. "They think I'm some kind of superwoman," she says. Serving as the honored guest for the weeklong event, Adamo's story brought many in the audience to tears. She was taken aback by a standing ovation and a "Pursuit of Excellence" award. Adamo began to see that some divine intervention might be at work here. "I think everything happens for a reason and I think it was a blessing," she says. "I don't regret one moment of it ... I think this is my purpose in life. At the health club, everyone says, 'you are a motivation, an inspiration.' And I think this is my purpose, to give people hope, to motivate and inspire them. ... There are going to be bumps in the road, but stick with it, it's worth fighting for."

Two years after the tragic fall that Adamo now calls a blessing, she finally has been released from medical care and is able to work. Now 207 pounds lighter with almost total mobility of her arm returned, her career focus has shifted. In the midst of her struggles, she earned certification as a personal trainer from the American Council of Exercise (ACE). Until she can fulfill her dream of owning a fitness club, she hopes to work as a cardiac rehab nurse. In the meantime, she intends to keep spreading her message of hope by way of the numerous endurance events she's scheduled, declaring Habitat for Humanity as the charity she will support.

jenadamo@jenadamo.com