"When I was 18, I was in a head-on collision," Kat recounts. The accident caused severe damage to her knee. "They came very close to amputating." The injury has impacted her over the decades since – "It'll always be a bit wonky," she notes – but in recent years, she's found considerable relief: Kat installed an
Endless Pool®.
The Big Decision
When Kat (short for Katherine) and her husband, Doug, first considered the Endless Pool in 2013, "I was 46 and needed a knee replacement. The doctor wanted to wait as long as possible": a knee replacement lasts 20 years, and a second one just 10, she was advised.
"I couldn't do a lot of stuff in the gym. I was getting frustrated, and also I was gaining weight."
When Doug suggested installing an Endless Pool in their garage, she asked herself, "'I've never been a swimmer. Is this something I'm going to use?'"
They visited
the Endless Pools Factory Showroom in suburban Philadelphia. As she recalls, "I got in the demo pool and thought, 'Oh my gosh, I just love it!'"
Kat uses the Endless Pool in her converted garage almost daily to swim, jog, run, dance, and even watch TV! A Performance model, it has helped her to lose 30 pounds, postpone knee-replacement surgery by as much as 10 years, and sleep at night uninterrupted by knee pain. Of her Endless Pools fitness and rehab regimen, Kat says, "It's changed my life."
Kat's Endless Pools Progress
"I spend half the time jogging in the pool. Things I can't do on land – squats, running – I can do it in the pool." She also enjoys adapting yoga and Pilates movements into her aquatic fitness routine. "I use the pool five, six, seven times a week – sometimes twice a day."
"I lost 30 pounds, and my muscle percentage has gone the high range for my age. My cholesterol is perfect. My blood sugar came down. My doctor said it's amazing."
While her weight loss was gradual, over about three years, Kat notes that she changed nothing else – not diet or activity outside the pool – to contribute to her progress.
And that knee replacement? Thanks to her improved fitness and weight, her doctor now predicts that it won't be necessary for another five to 10 years!
