MissFit: Jill Blair
Sport: CrossFit
Age: 39
Location: York, PA
Meet Jill Blair. Wife and Mother of two. She didn’t play a sport or run a race. Jill didn’t set any world records or set an Olympic weightlifting PR, but Jill is a champion. She is a MissFit. A fighter. A survivor. Jill is a Breast Cancer survivor.
Would you mind telling the readers a little about yourself?
I
am from Latrobe, PA and moved to York about 6 years ago to be closer to my
husband work. I have been married to a wonderful, supportive man, Chris, for
almost 17 years. We have two beautiful boys who keep us both on our toes at all
times. I am the owner/photographer at the Jill Blair Photography studio
in Wrightsville. I specialize in newborn portraiture, but I also love
working with babies and children. I am currently working on the boudoir side of
my business. I believe that all women are beautiful, no matter what size or
shape.
What is your fitness and/or competitive background?
I
have absolutely NO fitness background. I never played any sports in school. I
grew up with two older brothers that didn't play sports either. They were avid
hunters, and dirt bike riders, which is probably the reason I didn't have any
desire to play sports. It wasn't really big in our household.
How did you find CrossFit?
Chris
has been doing CrossFit now for around 5 years I would say. I started doing a
little bit of it right before I got pregnant with my youngest son. Then the
morning sickness hit, and lasted for months. I had no desire to go to the gym
at the point. So CrossFit again fell on the back burner for me. Then he joined
a CrossFit gym in the area, I still had no desire to go. To be honest, I was
intimidated. Everyone looked so much stronger than me, and I didn't want to
appear weak. Then in 2010, all of that changed and I realized just how strong I
really was.
Can you talk about when you were diagnosed and your survival story?
In
September of 2010, I felt a lump in my breast. I quite honestly thought it was
my rib. Chris felt it and thought the same thing, so I tried to forget about
it. The next month, I decided I should go and have it checked. My gynecologist
said the words "you are too young for breast cancer, and I don't really
think it's anything to worry about, but since you are due for a mammogram,
let's go ahead and order one." So off I went the following week, alone,
for my mammogram. I sat in the waiting room and waited with women that were all
older than me. I was called back, and then had to sit and wait again. The nurse
came out and said that they needed to do an ultrasound, so off I went for that.
I was then left in the waiting room alone. At this point I was shaken up
a bit and called Chris. He assured me that everything was all right, and I did
feel better…until they called me back to speak with the radiologist who said I
would need a biopsy. That happened the following week, along with MORE waiting!
That was the longest week of my life. Chris and I went in to find out the
results on a Friday. I remember seeing a doctor, nurse, and a social worker
walk in the room, and I immediately burst into tears. I knew that it was bad
news. "You have breast cancer", is all I heard and I cried even
harder. I remember saying "I have two small boys to take care of!"
over, and over again. The doctor was so nice…he let me cry until I could calm
down, and then told me "if you had to get breast cancer, this is the kind
you want to get". I was diagnosed with Stage 0 DCIS, which is cancer cells
that are contained in the ducts, and it does not spread. I was then scheduled
for surgery the next week for a lumpectomy, and was told I would need 6 weeks
of radiation after that, but my margins weren't coming back clear, so I had a
few more lumpectomies, and another MRI. My margins came back clear, but the MRI
showed yet another spot of concern. The pathology of that spot showed more
DCIS. My surgeon said I would need a mastectomy of my right breast, but I opted
to have both breasts removed. I wanted to do whatever I had to do to give me
the better odds of not having to go through this again. So on March 18, 2011 I
had a double mastectomy. When I went back to my surgeon the following week, she
told me that the pathology showed even more cancer than they had seen on any of
the scans. That confirmed I made the right decision. Even though some
days are hard for me to get past the scars that I see everyday, I never once
have regretted my decision.
My
motivation has always been and always will be my boys. They were only 1 and 7
when I was diagnosed. Devin, my oldest son, still to this day wears pink for me
and tells everyone how his mom beat breast cancer. Chase, he still doesn't
understand any of it, which I am okay with for now. Someday we will have that
chat.
What is your motivation now when you think about what you have been through?
I
want to be healthy and strong! This past year, Chris become co-owner of
CrossFit CDI. I made the decision to try it again. I figured, my husband is a
coach, so why not give it a go. In February 2013, I signed up for their
bootcamp class. The first WOD about killed me. I've always been thin, but I
knew I wasn't in great shape. I would get winded walking up a flight of stairs,
but I kept going. I was the slowest, I wasn't as strong as the others, but it
didn't stop me. I graduated the bootcamp and began going to the main classes,
and became hooked. The community is fantastic! No one cares what weight you
lift, or what time you finished. What they care about is if you are putting in
the intensity and the effort. I try to get in the box at least 4 times a week,
and miss it when I don't.
Do you have any advice to other women that may being going through the same thing or know someone who is?
My best advice to anyone that is going through/went through what I did, is don't give up. Don't sit back and let it take over your life. Fight…fight with everything you have. Life is so worth it. Yes, there are days when I still cry, but that's okay. Crying is good every once in a while. Let it out, then move on. If you know someone that is going through this, just listen. That's all you really need to do. Let them be afraid, don't dismiss anything they say. All of their feeling are real, no matter how silly they sound to you. Just listen, and be there for them.
I
can honestly say that CrossFit has changed my life. Did I think after having a
double mastectomy that I could do the WOD's that I am doing now. Hell no, but I
am. As long as you discuss it with your doctor, don't let anything hold you
back. If I can do it, you can too!!
Why are you MissFit?
Why am I MissFit? I am MissFit because I never
stopped fighting, and never stopped believing that I could get healthy again.
No matter how hard things got, I kept moving forward. My faith, family, and
friends never let me down.
Thank you Jill for sharing your story and demonstrating what the heart of a champion looks like!
October is Breast Cancer awareness month. Take the initiative and go get a breast exam. Go to http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org to learn more.
Empower * Inspire *
Encourage
