Shortly after being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006, I discovered the healing power of poetry in my soul. Despite experiencing chronic pain and fatigue and facing an uncertain future, when I wrote poetry, I immersed myself emotionally in a future time of being completely healed from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma and transformed the past with poems of gratitude and forgiveness.
The Gift of Polio
Thank you God for the gift of polio that brought me so close to you
while paralyzed I saw your face no matter what I’d do
Many wonderful healers you sent them to me at age 5
perseverance and triumph life’s lessons learned
but my Spirit could not yet thrive.
At age 53 the gift was sent to me a second time
having time to sit and feel to heal I started to rhyme.
The second time felt worse than the first
yet your love and wisdom I found
out of pain and weakness and fatigue a remarkable spirit rebound.
Reliving all the trauma of special shoes and such
I discovered remarkable healers who brought a loving touch.
I had no clue I had such strength and the ability to grow
no matter what the outcome deep gratitude I show.
This gift so precious I live a new life gratitude flows from me
my heart and soul are filled with grace each day’s a gift from thee.
As I did my Cardio Workout - 6.3 miles combined on the Arc Trainer and the Bike at my gym, I thought about how blessed I am to experience the miracle of healing in my life in the wake of having contracted paralytic polio and enduring unrelenting violence at the hands of family members. It's training day 4/5 on the road to Bermuda Half Marathon III.
Eleven years ago I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. Three years ago in December I was told I shouldn't run anymore following a very serious knee injury due in part to the effects of paralytic polio and having an atrophied calf muscle in my left leg. I required 5 surgeries on my left leg through the years including reconstructive leg surgery over 20 years ago. The MRI in December of 2014 indicated that I would need a total knee replacement in a few years. I was told to stop running and received an invitation to return to the Post Polio Clinic for a reevaluation. I opted out of Western Medicine and was blessed to meet Ryan J. Means, DC who in turn introduced me to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. I continue to practice Dr. Joe's teachings as I continue to heal my life.
Instead of accepting that invitation to return to the Post Polio Clinic, I received and accepted an invitational entry in April to the Bermuda Marathon Weekend now just 80 days away.
On this, World Polio Day I give thanks for the vaccines that are being administered worldwide and the campaign through Rotary International and the Gates Foundation that has brought the number of cases worldwide to less than 20. I know first hand the obstacles and challenges that come with contracting paralytic polio. Unfortunately there are many in the U.S. who are experiencing the challenges and obstacle of Post-Polio Syndrome as I had for many years and continue to heal the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.
The incidence of postpolio syndrome (PPS) in previous acute polio patients ranges from approximately 22-68%. The prevalence of the PPS was estimated at 28.5% of all paralytic polio cases. The current prevalence is approximately 1.6 million cases. Suggestions have been made that 100% of polio survivors, if tracked for a long period, can develop some symptoms of PPS. Source: https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/306920-overview#a6
Yet, as I say in my poem, I also know the gifts that polio and Post-Polio Syndrome have brought into my life.
I had a mystical experience when I was 5 years old lying paralyzed on the couch as I write about in my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":
As I lay on the couch, my mother glared at me smoking a cigarette. I had to go to the bathroom but I knew better than to ask her. I learned that I had to wait until my father or grandfather came home to be toileted. I had a vision. This beautiful Being with a flowing white beard appeared. A hand was extended to me to climb into a well bucket only there was no hand. I climbed into the well bucket even though I lay paralyzed on the couch. I was reeled up to meet this Being and then I returned to my paralyzed body. I knew that somehow I was going to make it through this mess.
After experiencing this vision, I saw this Being everywhere I looked. I saw the Being in my storybook. Whether my eyes were open or closed this Being was with me. Guardian Angel? or hallucination from the fever and pain of polio? I cast my vote for Guardian Angel that was there to protect me. Despite the emotional and physical pain, the abject terror I was experiencing, somewhere within me I felt peace and comfort.
I regained movement of my right arm and leg but my left arm and leg remained paralyzed. At least I could wiggle around a little on the couch and could hold my books. Here I was with this cold, angry, rejecting woman smoking a cigarette who would not and could not touch me, waiting for my father or grandfather to come home to meet my basic needs. Despite the precarious predicament I was in, I had a sense of safety. This was my first of many experiences of being touched by grace.
“Hi – I’m from the March of Dimes. I understand your daughter has polio. May I come in and see her?”
“Yes, someone has come for me,” I thought.
She helped me down onto the carpeted floor.
“Let me see how you can move…can you move from side to side? Can you roll over?” she gently asked me.
“Boy you are one of the lucky ones…”
“Really?” I thought to myself – “this is lucky?”
But she was right. There were many children who were institutionalized and in iron lungs. There were many children and adults who never regained movement after paralysis and there were thousands who died in the polio epidemics. Yes indeed I was one of the lucky ones. And although my mother did not have the capacity to care for me and about me, I had my spirit guide who invited me to make a choice. I chose life.
Shortly after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, I discovered the gift of poetry in my soul. That first poem, "Running the Race", foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run AND got me into running, the best sport in the world!
World Polio Day is a day to celebrate the efforts of the World Health Organization, Rotary International and the Gates Foundation in their effort to eradicate polio worldwide. It's a day to bring awareness to the work that still needs to be done to end polio now.
World Polio Day is a day for me to reflect on the gift of polio and Post-Polio Syndrome in my life and the miracle of healing that I have been able to create through the grace of God. It's a day for me to celebrate all that I have overcome!
To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours,
Mary
Be sure to listen to my interview with Keith Cartwright, "From Polio Survivor to Boston Marathon Finisher" by following this link.
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
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