Woman Fulfills Dream Of Becoming A Firefighter By Losing 160 Lbs

Jan 04, 2022

Every child has a dream to one day grow up and be anything they want. For some kids, their dream is to become a pop star, or maybe a racecar driver. For others, they want to do something that could potentially help others, and may hope to one day become a doctor. For Penny Leaver, her childhood dream was to become a firefighter.

The 43-year-old woman from Farmersville, Texas, always dreamt of becoming some type of first responder and found herself particularly interested in working for a fire department. It seemed like her dream was a possibility growing up, and she was raised to stick to a healthy diet and exercise regime. She grew up very aware of the food she was consuming and made sure to participate in plenty of sports, including basketball and softball. Leaver was also on the drill team.

However, Leaver found some of these habits to be restrictive and changed her lifestyle during college. She began eating foods she wasn’t allowed to eat before and exercised less. It wasn’t long before the pounds piled on, and Leaver tipped the scale at more than 300 pounds. Leaver tried dieting, but nothing seemed to work. On top of that, she dealt with more serious health issues.

Finally, Leaver found a program that worked for her and went on to lose 160 pounds. Once she started losing weight, she realized she could pursue her childhood dream of becoming a firefighter and did just that. Read on to find out more about her inspirational story.

Pursuing A Healthy Lifestyle

Speaking with PEOPLE in December 2021, Leaver said, “I always wanted to be a first responder.” Ever since she was “a little kid,” she hoped to one day make her dream come true. “I was active and thin and I was able to do whatever I wanted to do,” she added. However, college changed that. “...It just started spiraling out of control and it never got better,” Leaver said.

According to PEOPLE, Leaver weighed 316 pounds about four years ago and had other health problems, including multiple episodes of supraventricular tachycardia – an erratic heartbeat that can cause heart attacks. A cardiologist told Leaver that if she didn’t lose the weight, she wouldn’t make it to her next birthday, igniting the spark that Leaver needed to finally start her weight loss journey.

After joining a weight loss program, Leaver began eating a more healthy and balanced diet, and ended up losing 160 pounds in 15 months, according to PEOPLE. However, she lost her job in September 2020, and reverted to some old habits before realizing that this was her chance to really make a difference in her life.

“That was when I decided that I was going to get serious about getting physically fit and apply with the fire department,” Leaver said. She started training for the physical agility test, which had tasks such as moving a tire with a sledgehammer and running up stadium bleachers with a fire hose.

In September 2021, she passed the test, and is set to start EMT training in the spring to earn her full certification. “I’m very proud of how far I’ve come,” Leaver said. “I never would’ve been able to do that if I hadn’t lost the weight.”

Were you inspired by this woman’s weight loss journey and pursuit to become a firefighter? Let us know, and be sure to send this to your loved ones, too.