'Inspiration was tough to provide lying on the floor'

Kris Radish, 56, Apollo Beach

GOAL: To get my physical life back.

WHY I DID IT: More than six years ago, I was crawling on the floor of my house because of severe back pain. It was as if someone snapped his fingers and turned on the pain. I discovered I had a bulging L-5 disc and spondylolisthesis, a fancy word that means a vertebra in my lower spine slipped forward and onto the bones below it. Major ouchness.

I have been active my entire life: hiking, playing serious tennis, running, swimming, you name it. I was a varsity fencer in college, and maybe my height - 5 feet, 10 inches - helped cause this problem.

I'm a full-time Random House author. My novels are empowering stories of change, and my readers look to me for inspiration. That was tough to provide lying on the floor.

The doctors said surgery "might" help. My life is a sure thing, no mights allowed, so I ruled that out and for a while thought I was getting better.

Then, about six months ago - after settling into a new home, finishing another novel and falling in love with my new state - the pain came back, and there I was on the floor again.

HOW I DID IT: After a visit to my medical doctor, I found a fabulous chiropractor, Dr. Susan Welsh. She was honest and said she could help me but that I would never be 100 percent. I sold my rowing machine, which is hell on the back, and started working with her twice a week.

I was patient, and after a month or so I was feeling much better. Susan knows her stuff. Then I called a yoga instructor and trainer I had taken some classes from. Heather Brandt listened to me. She designed a program that totally addresses my back issues, and her Body Awakenings classes have changed my life.

I have lost weight, and I'm stronger than ever. I feel as if these two women have helped me get my life back. They listened to me and did not throw me in the same bag as everyone else.

HURDLES: My biggest hurdle is realizing that I now have limitations. I can't do everything I did before this injury - and if I do, well, please pass the whiskey!

GOING THE DISTANCE: I now work out at the local gym, with Heather or by myself, five or six days a week. I lift weights, bike, walk and do yoga. I want to work up to some serious rides - more than 100 miles - and drop an additional 10 pounds. I'm also going to get a kayak, and that will be me you see out in the bay singing and laughing into the wind!

I also have to listen to my back. I feel terrific and now realize that even with this back mess and my aging bones, I can once again live like the women in my novels.

BEST ADVICE: Chronic pain can be very tough, but don't think there isn't an answer. Be proactive and find someone who listens to you, who cares and who can help motivate you. Also, be patient with yourself - this is a process. Do not give up! If I can do it, anyone can do it.

I am on tour right now, and it's awesome to be able to tell the women who come to see me that they can do this, too. I have dropped a clothes size, and I can actually bend over without sobbing.

Take one step. Now take another; it's going to happen!