06/23/2026
48 hours between these two pictures.
My first show a few weeks ago didn’t go as well as I hoped.
(My class went on stage over an hour earlier than planned, so I didn’t get to eat, hydrate, or pump up first. Turns out that matters lol.)
I got 3rd place and missed nationals by one placing, so I decided last minute to jump into another show the next week.
Then Wednesday I got hit with a gnarly stomach bug. I couldn’t keep anything down, lost a ton of fluid, and got so dehydrated I passed out (on the toilet of course lol) but luckily Anna Howell was there.
The next thing I remember is waking up on the bathroom floor with EMTs surrounding me.
They said I needed to go to the ER in the ambulance, but I wanted to prove I could stand up for Anna to drive me.
Apparently a blood pressure of 69/55 is a bit low to keep blood flow to your brain when standing. Ask me how I know 😂
They took me to the ER and kept me overnight until things stabilized. When we got home Thursday afternoon, Saturday’s show didn’t seem likely.
But I slowly started feeling better and decided I’d take another shot at qualifying if I kept improving (plus I’d already signed up and paid so it seemed like a waste not to 🤷♂️)
But the next morning I woke up 2.3lbs over my weight cap from the fluid rebound. I needed to somehow drop 2.3lbs of water retention by that afternoon to even enter the show.
We packed up to drive 5 hours to the show on slim chances.
We got there and I weighed in at 194.0… Exactly at my weight cap. Just 0.1lb heavier and it would’ve been for nothing.
I definitely didn’t feel or look my best, but with Joe Jeffery’s wizardry and a good amount of luck (following some terrible luck) we pulled it off and qualified for nationals.
We have ~5 weeks until then and honestly my main goal is just to not get life-threatening diarrhea again 😂 100% don’t recommend it.