Plymouth resident battled Lyme Disease before competing on NBC's 'American Ninja Warrior'

Plymouth resident Sara Heesen gets to show off her considerable muscle on Monday's episode of "American Ninja Warrior." But before stepping onto the course of the NBC reality-competition hit, she had to tackle another obstacle.

Shortly before sending in an audition tape for the second time, Heesen was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, a bacterial infection that can affect any organ of the body and cause extreme fatigue.

Heesen had started antibiotics before producers told her she had made the cut, but she was drained from from the nine months she spent not knowing what she had and not getting proper treatment.

"A lot of days were hard to get motivated to get out of bed, but I knew that I had a lot of catching up to do and not a lot of time to do it," said Heesen, who works at the Twin Cities Conquer Ninja Warrior gym and Pittsburgh Blue restaurant. "I wanted to do well."

Heesen credits fellow competitor Hunter Geurard, a coach/manager at Edina's Obstacle Academy, for pushing and supporting her during training sessions.

Monday's edition was pre-taped in Kansas City, but Heesen isn't allowed to comment on how she did other than to say that she "did well."

"Warrior" airs at 7 p.m. on KARE, Ch. 11.