Miracle baby: Outstanding alumna mends her broken heart
When doctors couldn’t revive newly born Julie Wilkes, she came back on her own.
Julie was born with a heart condition she developed in utero after her mother suffered from a case of internal poison ivy during her seventh month of pregnancy. Though her mother carried her for 10 months, doctors discovered that the umbilical cord tethered to Julie prevented from getting enough nutrients for three months and, because of this, her heart didn’t form properly.
Given days to live, her mother brought her home, dreading the moment when her little girl’s heart would finally give out forever. “I don’t know how you put that feeling into words,” says her mother, Rose Docy. “It was a numbing feeling to go home and not know what to expect.”
Days turned into weeks and, at 6 months old, Julie’s doctors wrote “Miracle” at the top of her medical chart.
“The first milestone was when she made it to the age of 4,” says Rose, who along with Julie's stepfather, Jim Wilkes, helped rear Julie.
When she was in elementary school her gym teacher explained that her heart was a muscle that could be strengthened through exercise. She took that advice and ran with it. Slowly but surely Julie’s heart grew stronger.
“It was kind of cool. I healed my heart,” says Julie. “Fitness has given me my life back.”
Until Julie was an adult, she lived as if on a deadline, learning to live her life urgently because she never knew if she had tomorrow to finish something.
“I didn’t have the ability to put off something,” Julie says.
She says this is a great quality that she has kept, even though her heart is fine today.
Julie went on to get her undergraduate degree in International Business at Marietta College in 1998. Julie says Marietta College allowed her a supportive environment to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. “I attribute Marietta College not with one thing, but with everything,” Julie says.
She explained that before coming to Marietta College she wasn’t sure what direction her life would take. Being at Marietta she got to try different experiences that taught her which direction she needed to take.
She continued her education and earned a Master’s Degree of The Ohio State University in Exercise Physiology.
It was this degree that has led her to the start-up of her own business, PushPoint Fitness. PushPoint Fitness is a purely virtual fitness and motivation business. She posts a daily inspirational challenge video each day on YouTube along with having workout videos and inspirational workout clothing.
“My big thing is motivation,” Julie says. “It’s a matter of finding strength and motivation.”
Julie says to her it isn’t about getting down to a certain size, she just wants people to feel comfortable and confidence in their own skin through fitness.
When asked if today’s society was tempting with its unhealthy habits such as fast food, larger portions and less motivated people she admits she doesn’t feel tempted to do those things. “It just makes me know that there is a need for my profession,” Julie says.
Besides her business, she is also an ambassador and speaker for the American Heart Association, is featured in the March 2010 issue of FITNESS magazine for her role as the director of all wellness programs at her place of work (Accenture), and earned the 2008 Marietta College Outstanding Young Alumni award. She was also recently named to the 2010 Class of Forty under 40 by Business First in Columbus.
As for her future she hopes to expand her business and keep reaching and motivating more and more people. However, she isn’t in any rush.
“I have big dreams, but take it one day at a time,” Julie says.
EMILY BALSER
