Hello everyone, my name is Kenechukwu Obi.
I go by KayKay Obi.
Today, I want to talk about my transformation and tell the story of how I got into fitness.
Recently, I posted some transformation photos online and I had questions
about how I got to where I was and what my motivation was.
So, I decided to make this video, which chronicles my fitness journey starting from when I got into an accident.
My aim of sharing this is to inspire or motivate someone and most especially spread
some positivity.
I hope you enjoy the video please and if you have any questions let me know in the comments section
Thank you.
I'll start with this photo, as it represents one of the darkest moments in my life.
It was taken on August 23, 2012.
I'd just gotten into a motor vehicle accident and was rushed to a hospital.
They put a splint on my leg and bandaged up the remaining wounds on my body.
A few days later, I was transferred to a traditional clinic where I received treatment for my broken leg
Included are my X-ray photos to show the extent of damage that occurred to my leg.
On Sept of 2013, just over a year after my accident, I moved to Canada for postgraduate education.
As a student in a new country, I was filled with passion and wanted to participate in
as much as I could.
I helped organized several shows at the college I attended, which was fun, but after playing
soccer, basketball, volleyball I noticed I was always in pain.
Before my accident, I used to dance and I loved acrobatics.
After trying those activities, though, I would always be in terrible pain.
My ankle stung.
My knee felt like it was grinding.
My leg wasn't as stable as it used to be, so I knew there was a problem.
After a few visits to a family Doctor and taking more X-Rays, I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon.
As you see in this photos there was a mal-union of my tibia and fibula, which was causing
the pain I was having.
The surgeon decided I needed surgery to fix it.
The bones would have to be re-broken and aligned properly; I would have to start my healing
process all over.
I was devastated to hear this, but at the same time, I was happy with it if it meant
getting rid of my ankle pain.
At that point, both the injury and the pain were affecting me negatively, not only physically
but also mentally, socially and even financially.
On August 8th 2014, I had my first surgery, a Tibial IM Nailing procedure.
Here are X-Ray photos from after the surgery.
As you can see, I had a nail inserted into my tibia with screws to keep it in place.
One at the top and one at the bottom.
I learned from the surgeon that the fibula needed to be cut in order to gain proper access
of the Tibia, and the fibula would remain un-joined.
This is a video of me the day after my surgery, being trained by a physiotherapist on how
to walk while using crutches.
The rest of the year went by slowly but I was able to stop using the crutches before
winter and snow came.
I couldn't imagine having to use crutches on snow and ice, and I am thankful I didn't
have to find out what that'd be like.
During this time I was also able to record my first music EP, The Sights in my Rear View,
with my friend.
This was a plus for me as it was something I'd been wanting to do for a while.
And because I wasn't working, I didn't feel as bored as I could have as I'd occupy myself
writing music lyrics and short stories, and
I also dabbled into photography during that time.
On February 2015, during one of my follow-up appointments with the surgeon, it was determined
my tibia wasn't joining or healing as quickly as it was supposed to.
I would require another surgery where they would insert a larger nail.
Another reason for this surgery was for the doctor to look at my knee with a scope.
The results would verify what damage had occurred to my knee, and what could be done to fix
it, as it was still giving me pain after the first surgery.
Again, I signed the consent forms, as I was willing to do anything to get rid of the pain.
March 24th 2015, I had my second surgery.
In this photo I'm just recovering after the operation.
I left the hospital the next day but unfortunately, had to go to the ER the same night I was discharged.
My right knee was critically swollen and I was dealing with one of the worst fevers I've
ever experienced.
Something wasn't right.
I knew it.
I mean, I've had malaria and typhoid fevers, but this, truthfully, this was on a different
level and I thought I would pass out or even worse pass away.
When I got to the ER I was put on oxygen and morphine IV.
The next morning I had yet another surgery done to flush out the infection that'd come into my knee.
In this video clip, you'd notice how my right knee is very swollen compared to the left.
Next is a photo of me after that surgery and a video of me walking through the hospital.
As you can imagine, it gets frustrating sitting in one place or lying on a spot for a long
time, so when I got the chance I went for as many walks as I could.
These next X-Ray Photos show how the new nail is bigger than the previous one I had.
You can also tell that the bottom screw is gone.
In this photo you can see that although my dressings were removed, there was still quite
a bit of swelling to my knee.
You might be wondering...
Why do you have a bandage around your arm?
That's because for the next seven or eight weeks after that emergent surgery, I had to
go to the hospital daily for IV Therapy to receive antibiotics for the infection in my knee.
I had a PICC line inserted into my arm.
This is like an IV that directly accesses the blood vessels closer to the heart, and
it stays in your body much longer than a regular IV.
I had the PICC line on until my IV therapy was complete.
Using antibiotics for a long time can also mess up your digestive system, but I just
had to put up with it.
In this clip, I'd gone out of town for a few days so the hospital gave me enough antibiotic
doses I could administer myself while I was away.
So, I was acting all cool, feeling like a nurse or doctor and giving "instructions"
on how to use the PICC line system.
I used this as an opportunity to learn about the care I was receiving, which I likely wouldn't
have done otherwise.
The scope of my knee, taken in the second surgery, discovered that I had some arthritis and had
suffered a pcl injury.
My doctor advised against getting a knee replacement as I'm still young and an artificial knee
wouldn't last long enough to be worth it.
So instead, by June of 2015, I started seeing a physiotherapist at the hospital.
I would go twice a week, to mainly focus on bringing strength to my right knee and surrounding area.
Due to immobility I faced during my first treatment after the accident, I had muscle
atrophy in my right leg and had lost a significant amount of leg muscles.
My physio sessions at the hospital ended in July, so I started going to the gym at my
college to continue rehabilitating my right leg.
The last time I had tried going to the gym was around January 2014.
That was before any of my surgeries, but I lasted for just one week, as the pain wouldn't let me continue.
By the end of August 2015 I'd gotten so bored with doing only my knee exercises.
I was surrounded by weights.
I wanted to try lifting, so I did.
And this photo right here is what I consider my first progress photo.
When I started my fitness journey, I had no idea of the value of nutrition or even how
to train properly, but I just loved going to the gym and working out.
I felt like it gave me a purpose again especially after I started seeing my progress.
I had no gym buddy.
No personal trainer.
Google and YouTube were my go-to place for fitness related material.
To me, training at the gym became my football, my basketball, my volleyball - all those sports
I couldn't really play anymore due to my knee injury.
I was going to the gym approximately four days a week, excluding whenever I traveled out of town.
In January 2016, I switched to a bigger gym and my motivation grew.
As I read more about training and fitness, I started to split my workouts.
My split consisted of chest and triceps, back and biceps, shoulders and traps, and I combined
abs into some of those days.
As for legs, I did them when I wasn't in too much pain, as I didn't want to re-injure myself.
Splitting my training helped me with my progress because it gave me more resolution whenever
I stepped into the gym.
But one of the mistakes I made then was always doing cardio.
And I was using the same weight range again and again.
I wasn't training progressively.
By around June or July of 2016, I was starting to feel pains in my right leg again.
The fibula that was supposed to remain cut was starting to join together and would rub
against one another.
The screw near my knee was hurting me as well and I could feel it trying to poke out of my skin.
I was again hindered by my injuries.
I consulted with the surgeon and it was decided that I'd need another surgery.
November 10th 2016, I went for my fourth surgery.
This time I had the screw near my knee removed, and a bone graft was done to secure the joining fibula.
Bone was taken from the area where I'd the screw removed and used to fuse the fibula together.
Here are X-ray photos from that surgery.
Although it looks hazy, you can tell the fibula is now joined.
You can also see that the screw close to my knee has been taken out.
Filled with eagerness, I went back to the gym one month after my last surgery.
This time I trained with more resolution.
I made sure I increased my strength and weights progressively.
I even reduced the amount of cardio I do and I actually made very good progress.
This was in the middle of winter while I was dealing with major insomnia and dizziness because of it.
It really affected my strength levels, but I made sure it didn't stop me from hitting the gym.
And I've been going at it since then.
Today, I'm happy with how far I've come even though I haven't reached my goals yet.
As you can tell, it hasn't been an easy road for me but I made it work for what my abilities allow me.
These are photos I took around September 2017 to show how far I've come.
Also, to compare with where I was before I started.
I used to strive for perfection, but I've learnt life isn't perfect and sometimes we
just have to stop, reflect on, and appreciate how far we've come.
I'm 27 today.
Was 22 when I got into my accident and 25 when I started this journey.
My biggest advice to anyone out there is to just "do it."
Don't let anyone bring you down.
Follow your heart and pursue your dreams, and the most important:
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