These Extraordinary True Stories Will Remind You About the Power of Trust

I trusted my trainer—and he saved my life

“As an athlete, I’ve always worked hard to push myself to my limits and with that usually comes some aches and pains. So last year when I started to feel some muscle soreness after a tough workout at first I didn’t think it was a big deal. I was training for a marathon at the time, so over the weekend I’d done a 13-mile run. The following Tuesday I hit my favorite CrossFit gym to do a workout that involved a lot of upper body weight lifting. My trainer told me to take it easy on my body, but I figured I’d be fine and powered through it. Afterward, my trainer noticed a slight swelling in my arm and said he was worried. I tried to brush him off but he insisted I drink a lot of water and check in with him in a few hours. Sure enough, by that afternoon the swelling had increased and I headed to the doctor. I still thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill but I trusted my trainer so I did it.

“The doctor took one look at me and diagnosed me with rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening condition where muscle overuse causes kidney failure. (Fact: Rhabdo turns your pee brown! Here are 10 more things your urine can tell you about your health.) As they gave me IV fluids to flush out the toxins, my doctor told me that if I’d waited even another 30 minutes, we would have been having this discussion in the emergency room. Things were touch-and-go over the weekend but I made a full recovery, thanks in no small part to my trainer. I was a very experienced CrossFitter and still hadn’t seen any problems. Thankfully I had a great trainer I could trust; he saved my life.” —Katrina Plyler, Tuscaloosa, AL