Blount Co. woman qualifies for Boston Marathon after battle against infection

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Weeks before her journey to run in the Boston Marathon, Jennifer Boling opened a fortune cookie reading,

"Don't look at how far you have to go. Instead, look at how far you've gotten."

It's now printed on the tank top she'll be wearing April 16.

She found the fortune eerily similar the path that's led her to become a runner. She's 43-years-old now, but just a few years ago, she couldn't even walk to her mailbox.

"I had an appendectomy, which you know, a lot of people have. I didn't think a whole lot about it. After that, I developed a severe infection,"

she explained.

The infection kept coming back. After about four years in and out hospitals, doctors nearly gave up on her.

"It would be gone and somehow it would grow back. They just didn't understand it,"

Boling said.

She could have given up on herself.

"I just felt like a big slug. That's how I felt. I gained 50-plus pounds,"

she said.

The infection drained her energy, which made it difficult to be a teacher, and even more hard to be a mom.

"I felt bad about myself,"

Boling began.

"I had no energy at all, even though I tried not to show that. I was teaching and I had two little ones."

Finally, doctors cut the infection from her liver.

A walk to the mailbox turned into a 5K, then a 10K, a half marathon.

In April, the Boston Marathon will be her seventh marathon.

"I lost weight, which was just a bonus; but my whole thing was, I didn't want to feel weak,"

she explained.

"I felt like I was strong and that made me a better mom, a better wife."

As she reflected on the fortune from her cookie, she's been reminded of the fear, challenges and the support that came along with it. She said, it's the same support that will carry her over the finish line in Boston.