Hi there! My name is Jaimee Stagner. I am very happily married for ~18 years and the very proud Aunt of my nieces (16 and 12). Currently, I am an Associate Director of Finance for a Medical School at a local University. I love animals and I have two super-awesome cats, Otis and Riley! :)
Also, I love helping others so, I became an AFAA-certified Group Exercise Instructor in 2002 and have taught continuously at various places since then. My current formats are TurboKick, PiYO, and Yoga. (I can teach other formats, but these are my FAVES!!!) You can read more about these on the "Classes I Teach" tab.
Somewhere around 2003, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (hypothyroidism). I will have to take medication for this for the rest of my life. Losing weight and staying fit is twice as difficult for hypothyroid patients. Staying ahead of it and not letting it take control of my world is one of my MAIN reasons for my passion for fitness. So, believe me, I understand the weight loss battle!!!
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On a much lighter note, here are fun facts about me…
-I LOVE hockey, mainly because it’s all that’s on our TV in the wintertime. GO BLUES!!!
-I enjoy music, concerts (ROCK), movies, tv, and shopping.
-I am currently ADDICTED to Turbo Fire and PiYO (both are home workouts explained in this blog!) – I’m not at my goal quite yet, but I’m getting there!
-I ♥ my iphone along with other techie stuff and I dig a good video game.
-Strangely enough, I LOVE looking at home furniture and home accessories catalogs...it’s almost a sickness, really!!
If you need any help reaching your fitness goals, contact me and I’ll help you get there! If you want to know more about why I do what I do, read on...
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I get a lot of questions and comments regarding why I am so dedicated to health and fitness. The answer to that is not an easy answer but it is definitely my driving force. Below is the story of why I'm determined to help people, in any way that I can, so they never have to go through this themselves or with any of their family members.
Some years ago, my Dad was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Upon getting this news, he was not happy about it, obviously, and wanted to do something about it. The entire family was definitely cheering for him. He was a very intelligent, logical, and strong-willed person. We all thought that he would be able to turn it around since Diabetes can be managed through diet, exercise, and medicine (if needed) and we were totally on board with being his support system.
Unfortunately, the following year, he found out that he also had Rheumatoid Arthritis in his knees which put him in a wheelchair. He could still take a few steps, but doing so was incredibly painful and therefore, any lower-body exercises became EXTREMELY difficult. We were still cheering for him, but you could tell that he sometimes felt defeated.
Time passed and taking care of his health (i.e. watching his diet and exercising) was always something he was going to do, but never quite got around to it. It's one of those things that's easier said than done, but make no mistake - he had good intentions. The Diabetes and R.A. worsened and then... he was admitted into the hospital with Congestive Heart Failure. I would say it was his first big scare. He got a pacemaker since his heart would often go into "afib". We found that some days were worse than others, but he was never "well" after that.
Jumping forward approximately five years...in early December 2009 to mid-August 2010, he was going back and forth between hospital and nursing home because he had become so sick. He went through so many illnesses and so many ups and downs during this year, that I won’t go into detail here, but let me just say that it was heartbreaking to watch. All he wanted to do – was go home.
Upon his request, he went home in August 2010, he was stuck in a hospital bed and extremely ill. There was a nurse that came to the house a few times each week to take care of him and report back to the doctor, but my mother and aunt had become his 'round-the-clock caretakers. Time took a toll on him and on the family in so many indescribable ways. Then, in July 2011, at the age of 68, he passed away. I'm so sad, but I know he is finally out of pain and in a better place.
