Mum-of-one Nikita was born with spina bifida and her parents were told that she’d be dead by the time she was two years old. Not only is this mum-of-one living her healthiest life, she is proof that you can achieve anything you set your mind to!
“My parents were told I’d likely be dead by two.”
Nikita was born with spina bifida, a neural tube defect that results in the incomplete formation of the spine and spinal cord. It occurs during the first month of a baby’s development in the womb and there is no known cure.
The defect was never noted throughout Nikita’s mother’s pregnancy and doctors told Nikita’s parents that she would have no quality of life.
“My parents were told I would be a paraplegic, I needed a brain shunt, I would never walk, I would likely be dead by two. My left leg often the shade of blue with no response. No reflexes. No sensation from the knee down. Some went as far to say that I would amount to nothing.”
Nikita, age two, with her mum in hospital.
Despite this heartache, Nikita’s parents decided to choose quality over quantity of life, rejecting the need for brain shunt surgery. However by the time she was two, she’d had several major spinal surgeries.
“My mum pushed hard and taught me to walk relatively normal on my numb leg. I walked periodically unaided but often found myself bound to a wheelchair.”
For Nikita, her childhood and teen years consisted of numerous health obstacles and surgeries.
“By 8 they began reconstructing my left leg – and stopped anticipating my death. By 20 I had 5 full left leg reconstructions, 5 times I had to learn to walk again, 5 times I resembled a scrap pile of metal more than a human.”
Nikita, age 8, in her wheelchair.
“I haven’t sat in my wheelchair since starting my weight loss.”
At her heaviest, Nikita was 21 years old and weighed 105kg.
“I was faced with the tough reality that my weight was further crushing my spinal cord – I lost more sensation.”
After the premature birth of her son Darcy, who was born through fertility treatment, Nikita admits she never truly looked after him or herself until he was three months old.
It was then that Nikita found The Healthy Mummy, a weight loss company designed for mums through a friend. Since then, she’s lost 39kg!
“I haven’t sat in my wheelchair since starting my weight loss journey, I’ve definitely faced battles completing exercises and pushing hard like a ‘normal’ person, but I’ve pushed and come out the other side stronger than ever. My doctors are blown away with what I have achieved with my many hurdles along the way.”
Nikita has lost an impressive 39kg with The Healthy Mummy.
And while the numbers on the scales, lost centimetres, clothes getting looser and her more positive outlook are fabulous achievements, Nikita has learned to value her life and health so much more.
“If you take anything from this – YOU CAN DO IT. No matter your struggle you can manipulate your life to work for you. To get the best out of every second. Don’t take it for granted. Do it for your kids. Do it for your supporters. Do it for your health. Do it for your future!”
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