A huddle of doctors gathered at the foot of the hospital bed, murmuring to each other with puzzled faces.
It was clear the 90-lb woman lying limp in front of them was extremely ill, but they could not understand what was causing her body to shut down.
But one ominous thought was haunting them: “She isn't going to make it to the end of the summer.”
A Mystery of Misery
At the start of 2013, Christine Galgano was 20 years old and 130 lb of pure muscle. Training CrossFit seven days a week at CrossFit Ulster in Kingston, New York, she was strong, healthy, and in the best shape of her life. She dreamed of joining the military one day.
But as July rolled around, her body began to fail her.
What began as minor aches and pains developed into extreme pain in her wrists and swelling of her joints. When the tips of her fingers turned bright white, she knew it was time to see a specialist.
Photo courtesy of Christine Galgano
After a full bloodwork panel in October of 2013, she was diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease, which presents with symptoms of a combination of disorders — primarily lupus, scleroderma, and polymyositis.
Galgano was prescribed Plaquenil — an immunomodulatory drug that can be used to decrease the pain and swelling of arthritis — and was sent back to her daily life. So, she returned to school and CrossFit as usual.
But as the cold winter months turned into spring, Galgano's body continued to shut down.
“May of 2014 — that's when everything just went to shit,” Galgano said.
For most college seniors, the last few months before graduation are stressful. But Galgano was trying to finish her degree while simultaneously fighting for her life.
She was sleeping 16 hours a day, spiking 102-degree fevers five days a week, had a resting heart rate of 155 bpm, and was 90 lb of skin and bone.
“I would finish class and go straight to the hospital to get tests done at night only to return to school in the morning to try to finish my semester,” she said. “I felt like I was living in a body that wasn’t my own.”
After graduation, the symptoms were so bad Galgano had to rush to an urgent-care facility where the nurses took her vitals and, after viewing the results, immediately called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. She was admitted for 10 days and couldn’t walk or feed herself without assistance.
Still, she was lucid enough as she lay in her bed to overhear a chilling admission from her doctors:
“She’s so incredibly sick, we just can’t figure out what’s wrong with her, but she isn’t going to make it to the end of the summer.”
Photo courtesy of Christine Galgano
Rising From the Ashes
After being discharged without a clear diagnosis, Galgano decided to see another specialist, a rheumatologist who specialized in autoimmune diseases.
There, she found the answer she so desperately needed.
Her official diagnosis was lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. About 90 percent of lupus patients will experience some kind of kidney damage. However, in Galgano’s fairly unusual case, the disease was attacking her muscles. A healthy woman's muscle enzyme levels should measure close to 20 to 200 U/L (units per liter), but Galgano was sitting at 6,500 U/L. Essentially, her body was cannibalizing her muscles.
Her treatment began immediately. Galgano received 100 mg of IV steroids every day for three days and a chemotherapy infusion called Rituxan on the third day.
For the next six months, Galgano underwent chemotherapy treatments and slowly gained her strength back with the help of her family and physical therapist.
“Soon enough, I was able to walk on my own, wash my own hair, and put my clothes on without help, and it felt amazing,” she said.
Although she was making great strides for her health, her dream of joining the military diminished. Her diagnosis immediately disqualified her from enlisting.
Reclaiming Her Body
At Galgano’s six-month checkup, her doctor was shocked by her bloodwork. Despite the severe damage that had been done to her body by the time she was diagnosed, her kidneys remained untouched, when she should have been dead.
“(My doctor) said, ‘If you weren’t as fit and muscular as you were when you came into this battle, there is absolutely no way you would have made it out alive the way that you have,’” Galgano explained. “That small statement lit a fire in me.”
Although Galgano could not join the military, she found another path to serve her country — as a New York City police officer. Her next step was to become the strongest version of herself and fulfill a dream she thought was lost.
In January of 2015, Galgano was cleared to go back to the gym. After attempting to build up her strength on her own in a commercial gym, she knew she needed the community and support only CrossFit could provide. In April, Galgano joined her local CrossFit box, CrossFit Commack, and began to gain the strength she needed to pass the NYPD physical examination.
“Getting back into CrossFit seemed almost as difficult as my battle with lupus. I was constantly sore, tired, and I felt so weak,” she said. “But I showed up to put in work, and I knew in time it would all be worth it."
Through all of the setbacks and triumphs, the members and coaches of CrossFit Commack were there to support her. For eight months, Galgano trained five days a week to regain her lost muscle. In that time, she gained back 35 lb and enough strength to take the NYPD test.
Achieving a Dream
To be accepted into the NYPD academy, Galgano had to first take the entrance exam, an 85-question written test, a physical ability test (PAT), which tested her push-ups, sit-ups, running, and more, and pass a background check.
Galgano passed with flying colors.
Entering the NYPD academy in January of 2018, Galgano felt like she was back in college. Training at the academy’s 32-acre campus, located in College Point, Queens, she learned everything a police officer needs to be equipped with, from social sciences to criminal procedure to shooting a gun and handcuffing. She was even taught jiujitsu to prepare for her time in the field.
And just like college, if you fail, you don’t earn your badge. One of the physical tests Galgano had to pass was the Job Standard Test (JST), another physical test like the entry exam but much harder. The JST was similar to an obstacle course, and Galgano had to climb over walls with a weighted vest, run up stairs, drag 120 lb of weight, and fire fake guns with each hand.
By the end of the six-month program, Galgano finished as one of the fittest women in her class, and in July of 2018, she was officially an NYPD officer.
Photo courtesy of Christine Galgano
She may have met her goal, but Galgano continues to strive for more and has moved up in the ranks over the years. Upon graduation, she worked in the Bronx in the housing project, then transferred to Queens to be a patrol officer.
In her current position on the Special Operations team, Galgano roams the city at night in unmarked police cars looking for crimes in progress, catching perpetrators of grand larceny and burglaries.
To keep up her strength for such a demanding job, Galgano still trains CrossFit about three times a week at Cow Harbor CrossFit in East Northport, New York.
“My strength from CrossFit has helped so much, especially as a female, like throwing my body against dudes who are six feet tall,” Galgano said. “I remember I had one elderly female who was on the bathroom floor for two days. The bathroom was so small I was the only one who could fit in it. I grabbed her arms and deadlifted her up onto the toilet.”
CrossFit has been in Galgano's life through her best and worst days. She never realized the hard work and dedication within the walls of the gym would one day save her life and make her dream career a reality.
“We all have days where we feel like we are alone and we have no one to turn to,” Galgano said. “We feel as though things will never get better because no one understands how we feel. … It will be an uphill battle, but I promise you, you are capable of crushing every obstacle put in your path.”