I entered Boot Camp with some medical problems and personal struggles. I was not even sure I could do six weeks of getting up at 4AM, doubting that my aching body could handle this so called "Military Workout".

I remember Day 4. My bones ached and my arthritis was in full gear. I don't know if I was in more pain from the bad cold I was suffering from, or from previous days of Tina's torture. I looked at my husband and I just wanted to say, "The hell with this, I QUIT", but I knew I'd never hear the end of it. So, I gathered up all the strength and will power I could muster and headed out into the rain. That morning was a turning point in my life, I began to learn the meaning of the word DETERMINATION.

Each day it got easier and easier to get out of bed and get to camp. But believe it or not, even with all that running, I still had a tremendous mountain to climb. I had struggled with my weight for years, and then, with the help of the "miracle drug" Phen Phen, I got down to a double zero. But the drug had many negative side effects. I was skinny, but I sure wasn't healthy. Like all drugs, this diet drug had me in its grasp, convinced that the only way to be skinny, was to be emaciated, without any muscle tone.

But getting up every morning, proving to myself that I possess the inner strength to take matters into my own hands has taught me a tremendous lesson. Camp has given me the peace of mind that can only come with a renewed level of self confidence, as surely as if I was reborn. For the past six weeks, I have been free of the diet drugs upon which I had placed all my hopes, and the pain killers which I used as a substitute for my own inner strength. It's been twenty years since I've felt this clean and clear.

And at such peace. I feel confident, and unstoppable; healthy in mind, body and spirit.
I'm truly grateful to Tina for the many gifts her camp has given me. Especially, the opportunity to once again believe in myself. Thanks again CKBC for the inspiration and the perspiration.

Peacefully,
Kat Guera