ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)– Some fitness friends are showing their support for one of their own, after a scary illness sent her to the hospital. The woman isn’t from here, or even the U.S., and they wanted to make sure to care for her like family.

(credit: Xtreme 247 Gym)

Even the fittest people can have health scares and when an instructor at Gym went down, her friends came together to pick her back up. Marie Charlotte or “M.C.” as she likes to be called is no slouch.

(credit: Xtreme 247 Gym)

“She’s in killer shape, so for this to happen all of us were just taken back it’s just not her,” said her friend and boss Jackie Miller.

(credit: CBS)

The former French soldier and fitness instructor was teaching a class Thursday when things started going downhill. She asked her boss Jackie Miller for a break.

“She wasn’t feeling good so I told her to go lay down and I finished doing class,” said Miller.

(credit: Xtreme 247 Gym)

A few hours later, she was still feeling ill, so Jackie went to check on her. What Jackie found horrified her.

“She was just face down on the mats,” said Miller. “I freaked out.”

M.C. had a seizure then took an ambulance ride to the hospital where they ran a battery of tests but couldn’t find anything medically wrong with her. The doctors concluded the whole episode was caused by stress.

(credit: Xtreme 247 Gym)

Even though she is now feeling better, her ordeal isn’t over. She is having memory problems.

“She knows her mom and she knows very few people. She did recognize me when I came in but she doesn’t know her brothers and sisters. There’s a lot of people she doesn’t even recognize,” said Miller.

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Since she is from France, M.C. doesn’t have insurance and isn’t clear what the future holds. She loves the U.S.A. but she may have to go back to her own country. Whatever it may be her friends are just trying to be there for her now and make sure she will be taken care of going forward.

“She just needs help and that’s why we’re here today it’s to let her know she has a gym family that’s here to support her and surround her with love,” said Miller.

(credit: Xtreme 247 Gym)

Jackie and her gym are trying to raise money for M.C. to either pay her medical bills or send her back to France to be with her mom. If you would like to help out you can bring donations to .