Christina Hooper is the owner of Backcountry Fitness & Conditioning, where she runs Boot camp classes, offers online training influences hundreds of clients to live a better lifestyle, and teaches health and wellness programs.

Her love for fitness started at a very young age. Christina through her fitness journey fought innumerable health issues to become a role model for many. She experienced asthma in her junior years, which kept her from running long distances. But after months of training and growing out of having asthma, I eventually grew up to run and complete over 10 half marathons.

After having been diagnosed with Endometriosis she suffered from an iron deficiency and had to receive iron infusion every couple of months.

In November 2022, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her will to fight towards an even bigger fulfilling life. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation, or balance. It’s a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability.

She is a wife and a mother to 5 beautiful children & an obligation to her family to stay healthy and fit and to be able to keep up with them as a positive role model. Christina Hooper has over 20 years of experience in weight training, competition, marathons, one on one personal training, boxing, and kickboxing. 

Women Fitness President, Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with the amazing fitness trainer and role model, Ms. Christina Hooper who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis & continues to guide women to achieve the best in health & fitness.

Ms. Namita Nayyar:

In November 2022, you were diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis but you could experience the symptoms since the August flare. Please throw some light on the series of events that helped you realize that something was wrong.

Ms. Christina Hooper:

As I entered the season of harvesting garden my escape to work in my garden beds became my Oasis. Over the summer, I lived for the moments of my hands in the dirt, tending, and praising the fruits of my labor. 

My passion for gardening came from my dad. Learning how to grow vegetables and plants. He taught me how to appreciate the work that goes into growing, our own food.

September of 2022, came and I began to process the Harvest of the vegetables and fruits for the winter months for our family of 7. I suddenly felt something odd. While canning a batch of fresh pickled green beans, I suddenly felt like I had burnt my fingertips, and of course, brushed it off as part of the kitchen prep. I ran my fingers under cold water for a couple of minutes and continued on.

 A couple of days later, the numbness on all ten of my fingers progressed up into my hands over the course of the month. I began to experience, numbness in my feet and legs and suddenly was hit with the MS girdle.

For three weeks, I experienced extreme tightness and pain, and numbness around my chest and entire abdomen. I knew that motherhood and homeschooling our two, younger children managing my fitness coaching business, and keeping up with our farm animals and gardening; were catching up with me terribly fast.

I continued to push through to the point where everything became much more difficult in the middle of November.  I suffered all weekend from a severe migraine suddenly I woke up with a small blurry spot in my left eye that quickly worsened.  I experienced a loss of vision color blindness and severe blurriness.

That next week through a routine optometrist appointment. Immediately, I was diagnosed with acute optic Neuritis. The surgeon was on the phone with a neurologist at the emergency department within 10 minutes,  and he rushed me to the hospital.

 Through a series of tests, including an MRI and CT. Infuse Scans, and blood tests, found over 40 lesions in my brain and multiple active lesions up and down my spine. The cognitive struggles, bladder issues, random pain, and extreme exhaustion, loss of balance and stability during my workouts and daily life were confirmed. 

My biggest fear is multiple sclerosis.

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