LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – In a blink, her entire life changed.
Six years ago, a simple cut, catapulted a chain of events for Asia Ford – some overwhelming, some joyful and successful and others, utterly heartbreaking.
One thing for sure, that day in the hospital, having to choose between amputating her children’s father’s hand or his life because his glucose levels were to high was a wake-up call.
“I made sure that throughout everything, even if their dad didn’t come out of the hospital, that I would be here for them. I made a promise that day to my kids and God and said it’s time to take care of me,” Ford said.
True to her promise, at first Ford lost 100-pounds off her 507-pound frame.
Celebrating her success, she took to the races, promising herself to compete and finish the Triple Crown of running.
Fighting pneumonia and her body, with her son on one side and her angel Lieutenant Aubrey Gregory on the other, another checkmark was added to the list of accomplishments.
“If it wasn’t for him being out there, what I preached to my kids about quitting, my son would have seen me quit,” Ford said.
For six years, she’s been kicking the pounds away and her journey is far from over.
“The total I’ve kept off is 238-pounds,” she said.
Call it sheer determination.
“I said ‘Asia, you sure you want to do this?’ So, I said, ‘okay, since you want to do that we’re going to flip this tire all the way up the pavement. She ‘bout died that day, but she did it,’” Ford said.
Those who know her best know nothing gets in her way, not even the most recent death of her longtime sweetheart, friend and father of her children.
“He and I as a couple were over 1,000-pounds and we struggled to lose weight,” Ford said. “Sometimes I’m angry because I know we could have controlled it, but he tried, and he really tried.”
Ford powers on because the legacy he left behind is one she hopes to honor.
Fighting for herself, her two children – she spends her time at the gym 6 days a week learning along the way but also teaching her kids this new lifestyle.
“Every day we talk about that day. We make sure that we remember who he was. We remember the things that he said or did. We remember why the journey was started.”