First, a Difficult Diagnosis. Then, a Change in Direction.

A 19-year-old University of Tennessee Knoxville student sits in the waiting room after an MRI. She’s there because she felt a difference in her body but now her life is about to change. "You have multiple sclerosis," a doctor says to her.

Jennifer Burnette began to notice changes in her body throughout high school. What started as a subtle tingling in her legs progressed to numbness. In 1998, during her first year at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, she could no longer ignore her symptoms.

"I was sick all the time," Burnette said. "They couldn't figure it out."

By Thanksgiving break of that year, she had been to the general practitioner 12 times, but to no avail.

After Thanksgiving break, Burnette and her friends went on a day trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Here, the group of friends set out to fill up the rolls on their film cameras. While reviewing the photos the following day, she noticed that the left side of her smile hung lower than usual.

"I made an appointment that day," she said.

Her doctor notified her that she needed an MRI as soon as possible.

"That's when we finally got some answers as to what was actually going on with me," Burnette said.

Design by Audrey Geib

Changing Direction

Burnette draws parallels between the brain stem and a car's fuse box when describing what Multiple Sclerosis is to people with little to no knowledge of the chronic disease.

"If a fuse goes out, your radio could go out, or your headlights could go out," Burnette said.

In December of 1998, her first year facing that diagnosis, Burnette found herself at an impasse, unsure of what to do to move forward with her life. She returned to school in August with more news from her doctors.

"I came back my sophomore year, and I was told I'd be in a wheelchair by the time I was 30," Burnette said. "My prognosis was not good."

That bit of news compelled her to learn everything about her diagnosis and the body, and she started by changing her major to exercise science.

Because of the unpredictability of her body's future, Burnette decided to have kids early to achieve her goal of being a mom.

"I just wanted to have a family,” she said. “I wanted to be a mom. So, started having kids right away."

Burnette had her first of three kids when she was 20 years old – a girl named Alyssa Driggers. She began attending water aerobics classes while pregnant to keep her body healthy. Eventually, the gym manager approached her to become a certified trainer and to teach. Burnette has been a master trainer through ACE fitness certifications for 23 years.

Driggers said growing up knowing that her mother’s health could change on any day was at times difficult for her and her brothers.

"It was scary growing up, you know, knowing that she might potentially pass early,” Driggers said. “You never know, because M.S. can progress so fast."

Jennifer relaxes with her 3 children, Hudson, Landon and Alyssa, and two dogs after playing a game of cornhole in her backyard. Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Burnette

Raising children with M.S. took a lot of mental fortitude. With a baby and a toddler, Burnette went through a period where she lost all movement in her left leg. Her motivation and strength motivated her children to face their challenges head-on.

"It's just really inspiring because she never let that hold her back, like never ever," Driggers said.

Following her ACE certification, Burnette kept running into situations that motivated her to gain more certifications, complete more classes and learn more about the body. She is now certified in nutrition, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) stretching and licensed massage therapy.

While training people through recovery from various injuries, she discovered her true passion for helping hurt people and meeting them where they are.

"It's learning how to be smart, to work around the obstacles to be able to meet that person where they're at to be able to help them," Burnette said. "Everybody can be helped. It's just figuring out where they're at and what they need to get started."

Jennifer smiles with a group of her students after teaching an early morning spin class at L.A. Fitness. Photo Courtesy Jennifer Burnette

'New Body By Jen'

Now, 15 years after her doctors told her that she would lose the ability to walk, Burnette still works out every day, runs workout classes, coaches weight loss clients, and helps people get back on their feet after an injury or chronic illness.

One of Burnette’s clients, college baseball pitcher Jacob Hoffman said that Burnette has made all the difference in his recovery from Tommy John surgery ninteen months ago. 

“I really owe it to her,” Hoffman said. “With her help, I have been able to bounce back much quicker than anticipated.”

To manage her M.S. daily, Burnette drinks a lot of water, prioritizes sleep, tries to work out every day, has a diet of high fats and low sugar and takes daily vitamins. She has grown to look forward to moving her body daily through her workouts because of the unpredictability of flare-ups.

"You never know when you're going to have that flare-up and you're going to not be able to exercise for a couple of months, which has happened to me several times in my life," Burnette said.

Jennifer answers the question, "What's your why?" in a video uploaded to YouTube. Video Courtesy of Jennifer Burnette

Burnette surrounds herself with people who help her keep positive and goal-orientated.

"If you don't keep people around you that keep you sharp, keep you motivated and keep you on the right path, then it's really easy to get off on an exit and take a really long detour of life," Burnette said.

She couldn't hold back her smile when asked about her husband Alan and his impact on her. If Burnette is having a flare-up, Alan stays by her side to help her in any way he can.

"A lot of times when she has a flare-up, she'll sleep a lot," Alan Burnette said. "I just want to make sure that I'm there every time she wakes up. I make sure that whatever it is she needs I'm taking care of it, not her.”

Jennifer and her husband Alan jump for a freeze frame photo on the beach in the Domican Republic. Photo Courtesy Jennifer Burnette

Through her brand "New Body By Jen," Alan Burnette sees Burnette’s impact on her clients. Just the day before, he attended an end-of-life service for a client of Burnette's. At this service, the family of the man who passed spoke about Burnette and how it was through her working with their mother that his daughters were reunited and rebuilt their relationship.

"That's just a small example," Alan Burnette said. "That was just yesterday. You know, for Jen's world, that was just a Tuesday."

He has coined a phrase regarding people meeting and loving Burnette.

"If you don't love my wife, it's one of two reasons: either you don't actually know her, or there's something seriously f****** wrong with you," he said.