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WRITTEN BY HEATHER ROTHBAUER-WANISH
For Sylvia Hedberg-Thomas, each day is a new day of opportunity, hope, and desire to build a better future. In addition to assisting her husband, Jeff (who is blind), Sylvia works at the Eau Claire YMCA, is a mother to two daughters, and is a three-time cancer survivor. Through resolute faith, family dedication, and a focus on tomorrow, Sylvia is moving forward with an optimistic outlook that defies the odds.
Faith
Faith defines Sylvia’s life. She professes, “Without Jesus, I feel like I would have nothing. My faith is the most important thing in the world to me.” And, it would take a woman of strong faith to overcome her colossal obstacles. During her final chemotherapy treatment in May 2011, Sylvia suffered a massive heart attack and was in a medically induced coma for four days. When challenges like these come her way, Sylvia knows to believe in Someone much larger than herself.
Family
Sylvia and Jeff have lived in Eau Claire since 2013. They moved to the area so that Jeff could be closer to the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie. “My husband is attending Stout to complete his degree in vocational rehabilitation,” explains Sylvia. “As someone that is blind, he looks forward to assisting others with physical challenges as they try to enter the workforce and move ahead with their lives.” Sylvia happily drives her husband to school and works her schedule around his needs. “It’s really an honor to be his wife,” she says.
Jeff and Sylvia have two daughters: the oldest is married and their youngest, Shila, is 16 years old. Sylvia homeschools Shila. Sylvia believes, “Families really do need to carve out time to be together,” and she is grateful to report, “Our family does spend a lot of time together, whether it is homeschooling for Shila or the three of us traveling to Stout.”
Friends
“I do have friends in Florida and Tennessee that I regularly speak to and text,” states Sylvia. However, because she has only been in Eau Claire for a year, she has found it challenging to find time to meet and connect with new friends: “I work a lot of crazy hours, and I’m at the YMCA by 4:30 a.m. on weekdays. My availability doesn’t necessarily align with the times that others are available.” However, Sylvia does plan to allot time to developing and maintaining friendships, “I know there are phenomenal people here in Eau Claire, and eventually I will have more time to meet them and cultivate those relationships.”
Fitness
Because Sylvia works at the YMCA, some people mistakenly believe that she can work out all day long, every day. “I work some crazy hours, including early mornings, and then lead a cancer survivor program as a LiveSTRONG® trainer in the afternoon,” she explains. “I wasn’t able to work out for awhile because of scar tissue from my cancers and problems with some of the treatments.” Her training regimen and personal training style is constantly evolving, although Sylvia really enjoys working with those that have experienced a similar cancer journey as her own. To do so, she is currently training for breast cancer survivor certification.
Sylvia knows that most women are leading demanding lifestyles and can feel like they don’t have the time for fitness. Nevertheless, she encourages, “[Women] can always find time. Even if they are watching television, they can utilize the commercial breaks to do jumping jacks, squats, or lunges.”
Finance
With her husband as a full-time student, Sylvia and her family know about tight financial situations. However, she also feels that finances don’t have to rule or define them, “Obviously, we’re working on financial goals so that we can move ahead. And, you do need money to live. But, we know that we don’t have to be rich to enjoy life, spend time with our family, and develop a life that we can be proud of when we look back.” In the near future, her husband hopes to find full-time employment opportunities that are both personally fulfilling and financially bolstering.
It is no surprise that of the five Fs, faith is the most important to Sylvia: “My faith defines my life and is everything to me.” Sylvia also knows that as seasons change, so family, friends, fitness, and finance may play larger or smaller roles at different points in time, “Life’s a journey that is constantly changing. While our past has been challenging, I still feel blessed and look forward to the future opportunities that will come our way.”
