Jennifer Moss, 43, knows what it means to fight for her life, and she’s had to do it more than once.
The Birmingham native, who moved to Memphis at 12, has spent nearly her entire life battling medical challenges that could have easily defined her. Instead, she chose to define herself by movement, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to health.
“I’ve always been active,” Jennifer says. “Ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics, cheer — I was constantly moving.” But even as a child, her body was fighting invisible battles. By age 5, she suffered from severe migraines that required strict dietary changes. She missed a significant amount of school due to ovarian cysts and was told she likely had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Her health struggles intensified in her twenties, with returning migraines, debilitating gallbladder spasms, and continuing cysts that led doctors to tell her she would likely never have more children.
Then came the diagnosis that finally explained years of pain: severe endometriosis. During surgery around age 27, doctors discovered the disease had spread far beyond what anyone expected. “My entire right rib cage was covered in endometriosis,” Jennifer says.
Though surgery brought temporary relief, conventional treatment options, including hormone suppression drugs, didn’t feel right to her. She chose a different path, focusing on lifestyle changes: fitness, nutrition, reducing inflammation, and learning how to support her body naturally. Against medical expectations, she went on to have three full–term pregnancies, and throughout it all, fitness remained constant.
Jennifer eventually became a certified trainer and gym owner, regularly practiced yoga and Pilates, and even powerlifted competitively. At one point, she owned JenFitNess and trained more than 40 clients, specializing in helping special populations. “Fitness was never about aesthetics for me, but about healing and training the body to function,” she says.
Another health scare shook Jennifer in November 2023, but it finally led to a more comprehensive diagnosis for her symptoms beyond endometriosis. While traveling to St. Louis, Jennifer suddenly experienced catastrophic symptoms and collapsed, unable to function; she later learned she had suffered a massive hemorrhage. Emergency responders rushed her to the hospital back in Memphis while she was hemorrhaging, and doctors later discovered the hemorrhage was caused by Moyamoya disease, a rare cerebrovascular condition that causes the progressive blockage of arteries supplying blood to the brain.
By all medical expectations, she should not have survived longer than 20 minutes. She spent six weeks in the neuro ICU, underwent emergency procedures to drain blood from her brain, and later endured a grueling 10–hour brain surgery. Physicians warned she might never walk, talk, or retain memories again. But Jennifer had already spent decades training her resilience and fighter attitude, and was ready to continue fighting. She believes her years of fitness played a critical role in her survival and recovery. “Had I not built that foundation, I don’t know if I’d be here,” she says.
Recovery has required an entirely new relationship with movement, and Jennifer found herself celebrating walking one mile at 2.7 mph. She practiced chair yoga, somatic therapy, fascia work, meditation, and nervous system regulation.
Today, Jennifer continues her healing journey with specialists, brain scans, neuroplasticity therapies, and lifestyle interventions focused on reducing inflammation and supporting brain health. “There’s a place for every type of movement,” she says. “You never know when the strength you build today will be the thing that carries you through tomorrow.”
By Zoe Harrison
Photo by Tindall Stephens
