This Christmas, Mandy Ackrill has the best present she could wish for – she has sold her wheelchair and is able to chase her three-year-old grandson Connor around the house.
Last Christmas, it was a very different story. The 44-year-old mum-of-five from Totton was disabled, overweight, unconfident and suffering from a painful and debilitating illness which left her with dislocated joints.
Shortly after that, she joined Totton Health and Leisure centre and was taken under the wing of gym instructor and nutrition advisor Lee Rich.
He said: “When Mandy first came to me for personal training she turned up on a mobility scooter and used a wheelchair most of the time. She was overweight and very unhappy with her body image.
“We settled her into a gym environment and took a step-by-step approach to achieve her goals. We first just introduced gentle cardio-vascular exercise and a range of motion resistance work to improve her body’s muscle memory and we built up from there.”
Slowly and surely with regular supervised training, Mandy toned up, lost weight and became so fit and confident that she was able to swap her mobility scooter for a bike, sell her wheelchair and stop taking her medications.
“Lee has really given me my life back”, said Mandy. “My clothes size has dropped from a size 18 to size 8/10, I feel so confident, younger, really cheerful and inspired.”
Mandy has been ill since childhood and has had several operations since her teen years. She has been treated for hyper mobility syndrome which left her so disabled that she could only walk outside of home for short distances with a leg brace or walking stick. She suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol as a result and was eventually referred to Southampton General Hospital for hydrotherapy. When she was unable to swim because of an ear infection, she decided to try some gym exercise.
“I’d always wanted to body build, but thought it was an impossible dream,” she said. Within weeks of joining Totton Health and Leisure, Lee got Mandy to try light weights – now she is doing squats with 60kg weights and she is toning up with a bodybuilders’ physique.
“One day I’d like to compete as a powerlifter,” she says.
Mandy trains at Totton Health and Leisure most days and says that everybody there has been really supportive – she has made friends with staff and other centre users and always leaves with a smile.
Lee said: “Working with Mandy has been a real joy. She is passionate, committed, dedicated and despite setbacks, injuries and bad days, she has fought on. I may have given her the knowledge and tools, but it is Mandy who has done all the hard work!”
New Forest District Council’s portfolio holder for health and leisure, Cllr Di Brooks, added: “I’m delighted that Mandy has made such a remarkable progress to good health and mobility with the support of Lee and other members of staff at Totton Health and Leisure. I hope her example will encourage others to get fit and try new activities in the new year.”
But not only has Mandy got her health and mobility back – she has also landed a job at the centre now as a cleaning supervisor, work which she was unable to even consider when she was so disabled.
Mandy has also been greatly supported by her husband Mike, who first encouraged her to go to the centre, paid for her membership and has even built her a mini gym at home. Her five children, Charlotte, 22, Vicky, 20, Hannah 18, Shannon 17 and Jordan 15, have been great, she says, and are delighted to see their mum so fit and happy now.
It will be a happy family Christmas for them all, not least for little Connor who is sure to keep nana on her toes!
