Maryann Zehe’s life was pretty standard for a woman her age: hobbies, family, and the gym. Then her husband fell off the roof.

In an instant, her life went haywire. Hospital trips, doctors, forms and more took over. Her husband was now paralyzed from the neck down. Normalcy, it seemed, was a long ways away.

But Maryann had what she called her “little hidden treasure.” Every day during the two years that her husband was in the hospital, Maryann got up early and went to the gym. Not any chain gym full of machines and college kids masquerading as trainers, though. Maryann went to Health 360.

“This gym saved me in so many different ways.”

She credits much of her turnaround during those difficult days to Health 360. “I never would have made it,” she said. Maryann started at Health 360 a few years before her husband’s accident. She’d tried a few of the big chain gyms, but they were always a disappointment.

One day, Maryann overheard the staff at her large chain gym making fun of clients. She’d had enough. “Nobody even said hi,” she said in reference to just how cold and unwelcoming the chain gyms felt.

Health 360, she realized, was vastly different. Maryann stuck to one routine and then called it a day at the chain gyms. “I’m doing stuff now I never thought I would do,” she says.

Maryann’s personal trainer, Teri, works with her on workouts and new routines. They have a relationship that goes beyond just trainer and client. They talk about kids, life events, and more. Teri keeps up with Maryann to make sure she stays dedicated, and even motivates her to try new workouts.

Maryann used to stick to the treadmill, never picking up weights or altering her workouts. Now, she weight lifts, strength trains, and even flips tires on occasion.

Maryann’s husband just got sicker, unfortunately. He had full mental capacities but his body would not respond. And he just kept getting infections. He died last February.

“This gym saved me in so many different ways,” says Maryann.

She had people checking in on her both during her husband’s time in the hospital and after his death. Unlike at the chain gym where getting a “hello” out of someone seemed next to impossible, her gym mates at Health 360 made sure to keep tabs on Maryann. “It’s not the equipment, it’s the people that makes the gym,” says Maryann.

Even her doctor saw a positive change. “She calls me her poster child,” says Maryann, in reference to the fact that she lost 60 pounds and is now fit and active.

Now, Maryann is up to various new things. She’s practicing her golf swing, and even though she claims she’s such a bad shot it makes her trainer mad, she’s having fun. She’s even planned a safari in Botswana during August.

“I’m crossing things off my bucket list I didn’t know were on there,” she says. She points out that a 91-year-old man is a regular at Health 360 as well. She sees him as a goal. “I’m not going to end up in a nursing home,” Maryann says, “they’re not gonna catch me.”