RICHMOND, Va. -- Kellie Davies was not alone when she made the four-hour drive from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to Richmond to workout with Shaun T at the CBS 6 Healthy Lifestyle Expo. Davies, 25, was accompanied by her fiancee Lee's Fathead. No, Lee was not born with an over-sized dome. Fathead is the brand name of the large picture of Lee that Kellie has carried during her travels.
"It's sort of a funny thing for me to focus on in his absence," Kellie said. "But also so that he can 'be there' at big moments he's missing out on."
Kellie Davies, her dog and Lee's Fathead
Lee cannot workout with Shaun T in person on Saturday because the Glen Allen Marine was deployed overseas. While deployment is not an unusual circumstance for military couples, the series of life events that led up to this weekend's meeting with Shaun T is anything but ordinary.
Kellie, from Charlottesville, and Lee, a Deep Run High School graduate, first met while in college at Virginia Tech. Their love story took an interesting, and painful, turn one year ago this weekend.
"Lee and a few of our family members decided they were going to go snowboarding and skiing at Massanutten. It was there that he asked my dad for my hand in marriage," Kellie shared. "Right after he asked my dad if he could marry me, he fell down the slope. And I mean immediately after. All I can picture when I think of this is how happy he must have been after he asked my dad on the ski lift and how much pain he must have been in when he fell."
The fall was more than painful for Lee, it was life-altering. Lee broke his neck. A diagnosis he made before he saw a doctor. He texted the news to Kellie.
"I was out with friends eating dinner and did not believe him. Really, come on, who breaks their neck and sends you a text," she said. "I was in total disbelief! I even told my friends when we left the restaurant that he better have a broken neck or something because we had to leave dinner early."
Lee was right. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors confirmed the broken neck. Doctors told Kellie her fiancee had broken his C2 vertebra.
Lee in the hospital after breaking his neck.
Kellie stayed in the hospital with Lee during the early days of recovery. Shortly after he was released from the hospital, he made their engagement official.
"He proposed in May at Keswick Vineyards. He's a complete hopeless romantic and had planned a barrel tasting, scavenger hunt, surprise engagement party, hidden photographer. He had done it ALL. One of the happiest moments of my life, hands-down," Kellie recalled.
Lee proposed to Kellie at Keswick Vineyards (PHOTO: Kellis Photography)
The next month the couple moved to Camp Lejeune. And that is where Shaun T entered their love story.
"Lee was still in the recovery process, so working out for him was limited. We were also not your typical military couple (since we were not married yet), so I did not have access to the gym on base. The closest gym was 45 minutes away, and that wasn't happening. I took a leap of faith and started doing the 21 Day Fix," Kellie said. "It was actually the first workout Lee was approved to do after his accident and he pretty much got back into shape from it."
Insanity Max 30 followed and Kellie's workout love affair with Shaun T grew.
"Somehow, you can tell he truly cares about you and your health, even though he's talking to you through a TV. It's a crazy thing," she said. "Lee started doing the Insanity workouts with me up until basically when he left for deployment. I'm pretty sure even on Christmas Eve I forced him to MAX OUT with me and Shaun T."
Kellie and Lee after they maxed out.
"Insanity has a special place in my heart because it's one of the things we used to do together before he left. Things like that mean a lot to you when you're entire life leaves to go on a deployment. I can't really explain it, but I'm sure other military spouses when understand what I mean," Kellie said.
When she learned Shaun T was coming to Lee's hometown, she jumped at the opportunity to workout with him.
"I actually cannot believe that I will get the opportunity to meet someone who motivated Lee and me much. To me, Lee doing the Shaun T. workouts brings me so much hope. If only you could have seen Lee at the hospital after he broke his neck. Sitting in that ICU room with him, terrified for him to even move an INCH, I can't believe that he is now completely healed and able to workout," she said. "I remember us taking a 'romantic stroll' as Lee liked to say, but really it was me pushing his IV cart around and him walking in his halo and a cane through the hospital. I seriously asked him if he was ever going to be able to walk faster. I think I was in denial about the severity of his accident, but I always knew deep down he'd be fine. And now, not even a year after that, there he was completing one of the most difficult programs Beachbody has to offer."
Lee and Kellie take a 'romantic stroll'
Kellie said working out these days reminds her of Lee and the last few days they spent together before he deployed.
"It makes me so happy to look back on 2015 knowing that although Lee broke his neck, he is fully recovered, deployed, and even able to workout," she said. "Meeting Shaun T. is going to be a very huge moment in my life, because it's not just me meeting a celebrity trainer, it's me celebrating my fiance's health and being reminded of how far he has come. Shaun T. was a part of that. It's crazy how something so negative can become a positive."
Kellie and Lee
