January 28, 2009 

My name is Carol Kelly and I have quite a story.  I am 47 years old and I herniated a disc in my lower back in 1993 while trying to stop a patient from falling.   I felt and immediate pull or snap in my back but I figured I would be O.K. 

Throughout the next 15+ years I ended up having a total of 15 back surgeries.  At one point their Pain Management Physiatrist had me on so many drugs I was down to 80 lbs. and never got out of bed.  I finally had the where with all to throw away all the medications except a few pain pills and I went to see a Pain Management Physician who implants Pain Stimulators and Intra-thecal Pain Pumps.  I had injured myself so many times from the nerve root damage in my leg and having falls.  My leg would just give out.  I broke my foot twice, injured my elbow, my left rotator cuff is torn, I have more herniated discs, and the latest is my arches have fallen in my feet and that was a real setback.  Since October of 2004 I’ve been completely homebound and bedridden. 

Before my injury I was a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist, I used to run a health spa and I taught classes 6 days a week, and was very athletic.  I competed dancing from ballroom to latin, played on an adult soccer team, and softball.  Being fit and healthy was very important to me.

All through the years when there was no physical therapy I bought every kind of exercise program there was out there.  I still have them here at my house.  I just wanted to feel better, sleep better, and be as fit as possible.  I had little or no success with so many of these programs due to additional injuries or it was too hard to do.  Some of these programs you are jumping up and down with weighted poles, hand weights, etc…  I even had a physical therapist coming to my home 3 days a week for 3 months and I ended up worse due to my rotator cuff and weight lifting.  My Orthopedic Surgeon had mentioned finding a personal trainer and wrote a prescription for one in the past.  I started calling around and they either wanted way too much money or didn’t want to work with me due to my injuries and so many surgeries.  The sad thing is that I work hard and will do my best.  I just want to get well and be as strong as I can be.  I want to be able to do my activities of daily living.  I know that I can do so much more.

I was on a natural cures website when I learned about Tahitian Noni Juice and started drinking that.  I started feeling better and my son became a distributor with me.  I went to get certified in their Tahiti Trim Plan 40.  At the certification, one of Teresa Tapp’s trainers, Kiona, was there because Tahitian Noni has partnered with T-Tapp.  I was so impressed.  As soon as Kiona was done with her presentation I tracked her down and we set up an appointment for her to start training me.  I was so ecstatic.  When she did the presentation I knew this was the plan for me.  I had purchased the Basic Workout Plus through Tahitian Noni but Kiona told me I needed the T-Tapp MORE Rehabilitative program because of all my surgeries and rehab issues.

I went to the first private session and Kiona was great.  I had looked at the T-Tapp website and read about all the workouts.  I knew that I needed more especially being stuck in the house, so I ordered both Step Away the Inches and Hit the Floor  workouts as well as the CardioStride Sneakers, Alfalfa, Fibertox, PG, and the WhiteBrite.  I went home and started working out.  I was doing a boot camp for 14 days.  I started doing 3 to 4 15-35 minute workouts a day.  I was doing very well with the form between my background in fitness, my injury, and Kiona’s training sessions.  I had only measured my waist, and after the first week I had taken off and inch.

My rotator cuff was so bad still from the physical therapist pushing the hand weights that my pain management physician decided to do a few trigger point injections so I took two days off.  I started back up and after 13 days I had taken off 24 inches!!!  The injection in my shoulder didn’t do much good.  What really helped was the T-Tapp exercises for the arms.  This was too good to be true.  I wasn’t sore from working out, and I had so much energy.  Before T-Tapp, I was only sleeping 1 to 1 ½ hours at a time.  I would wake up from pain and not be able to go back to sleep.  I would go for days like that until I crashed.  I got up to sleeping 5 hours straight through.  My pain level had gone down tremendously.  I rarely took oral pain medication and I could turn off my pain stimulator for a little while during the day especially while working out.  I don’t use my cane any more.  I had even gotten into doing a little housework which I haven’t been able to do in almost 4 years.

My son, Nick (22), said not only did I look great but he wanted to know if I was sneaking my pain medication because I had been so happy again (HE WAS JUST JOKING) and he likes to see me smile and not have to take the medication.

Everywhere I went from my hairdresser, her coworkers and mother were just in awe of how good I looked.  They all asked where my cane was and I told them where it belongs at home.  My pain management physician and his whole staff were totally amazed and couldn’t believe after 6 weeks I took off 44 ¼ inches.

I had a bit of a setback in early Fall due to the arches in my feet collapsing.  We had to go through a lot of trial and error because I had also fractured my right foot twice from falling down the steps and in physical therapy.  I had to stop exercising other than certain moves like PBS, and different moves on the floor.  I was very upset and depressed.  We tried so many different inserts in my shoes, etc…  Then I had to move in mid October and I’m still settling in and getting things together.  This set me back mentally but the one thing about T-Tapp is no matter what, you can do it. 

The main thing is I can workout again and be in less pain.  With my injuries I need to workout every single day.  It doesn’t have to be a marathon but I have to or the pain is worse and I don’t sleep as well. 

I’m so grateful for the Finger and Foot Fitness DVD too!  Right now I have a physical therapist coming again and the first thing I did was tell her that I would like to only use T-Tapp.  I gave her a copy of Teresa’s book and the DVD “Yes You Can” because if she is working with me we are only doing the best. 

Amy, my physical therapist, read the book over the weekend and I had given it to her on a Friday.  She just came back from having her second child.  She loves T-Tapp and when she is here we do at least the Basic Workout Plus together.  I have someone coming to pick up all those old workouts that I bought off the TV and the equipment and I’m just donating all of it.  I spent quite a bit of money before I found T-Tapp on all those other workouts that didn’t work.

I love all of the workouts and my goal is still to become a T-Tapp Trainer.  I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes because I know that I have a purpose and that is to help others through T-Tapp.  I’m so grateful to Teresa and T-Tapp has saved my life.  I must thank Kiona too for her support.  I have such hope for a future and a purpose to learn as much as I can and tell everyone about T-Tapp.  I know that I can do this and become a trainer and I want to share it with the world.  I think it is so great too because even if you have setbacks for whatever reason you can just get right back to working out and the results are amazing.  It is great to have some direction in my life again and goals set.

Respectfully yours,

Carol Kelly