When Tiffany Fabriz remembers the unexpected passing of her mother in July 2011, it seemed like it all happened so fast.

First, there were abdominal pains. A trip to Dale Ann Fabriz’s primary-care physician resulted in a referral to a specialist, who had just initiated testing when the pain became so unbearable that Tiffany Fabriz ended up taking her mother to the emergency room.

Five days later, she was gone.

Dale Ann Fabriz was just 63 when she died of intestinal ischemia, a relatively rare condition that occurs when blood vessels to the intestines become narrowed or blocked, reducing blood flow.

With no spouse, parents or siblings left to support her, Fabriz, then in her late 20s with an 8-year-old daughter at home, realized she was going to have to raise her child on her own.

And she wanted to be there for the long haul.

“My dad passed away when I was really young, and I’m an only child,” said Fabriz, now 32. “So, it was like, ‘Crap, I don’t have anybody. If something were to happen to me, what’s going to happen to my daughter?'”

The tragedy spurred Fabriz, the winner of this year’s Free State Digital New Year New You makeover contest, to take control of her own well-being. Free State Digital is a division of The World Company, which also owns the Journal-World.

Tiffany Fabriz, 32, left, is the winner of this year's Free State Digital New Year New You makeover contest. She was nominated by her daughter, Maya Perez, 12, pictured at right. Fabriz has lost over 100 pounds in the last year, and her healthy habits have rubbed off on Maya.

Like her mother and countless single mothers before her, Fabriz admits she often failed to take care of herself. She was overweight and on her way to developing her mother’s health issues by the time Dale Ann passed away nearly four years ago.

In the 13 months following her mother’s death, the Lawrence nurse made it her goal to get healthy, losing more than 100 pounds and inspiring her 12-year-old daughter, Maya Perez, in the process.

Maya nominated her mother for the makeover contest, and for winning, Fabriz will receive a three-month membership to Body Boutique with unlimited power training; a manicure, pedicure, haircut and color at Images Salon and Day Spa; one-month of unlimited tanning at Mango Tan; and a makeup consultation and application at Weaver’s.

“She is the best mom ever because she cares about others and puts them first,” Maya wrote in her nomination essay. “She does so much for me and I would love to be able to get her something really nice because she deserves it.”

Fabriz, who works as a care manager at Topeka’s Stormont Vail HealthCare, said she’s looking forward to her upcoming makeover, especially the free gym membership. She hopes working with a trainer might help “promote the shrinkage” of excess skin, which often occurs with major weight loss.

Aside from a few classes through the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, Fabriz lost the weight on her own with “good old-fashioned diet and exercise.”

She started small, taking walks around the neighborhood and the track at nearby Southwest Middle School. Gradually increasing the intensity over time, she eventually moved on to running, and within the first month of her new regimen, Fabriz had lost 17 pounds.

Now, more than a year later, Fabriz said she’s still a work in progress, though she’s a “much happier person.”

She also learned a thing or two about setting goals, and will receive her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Fort Hays State University in May. From there, Fabriz hopes to enter Fort Hays’ graduate program in nursing administration — her ultimate goal, she said, aside from being there to watch her daughter grow up.

“Of course I did it for myself, but I really did it for her,” Fabriz said of getting healthy. “I tried to set an example and make sure that I stuck around for her.”

So far, it looks like Fabriz’s work is rubbing off. Maya, now a sixth-grader at Southwest Middle School, keeps active with softball and volleyball, and even dabbled in theater last semester with her school play.

She’s kind, too. Like her mom, Maya is “always doing something for someone else,” Fabriz said.

Still, Fabriz said she was “shocked and overwhelmed” to learn her daughter had nominated her for New Year New You, one of 107 nominees in the contest.

“Sometimes we wonder if we’re being the best parents,” she said. “It’s always good to have those moments where you’re like, ‘OK, I guess I’m not doing too bad.'”