Celebrating Healing: On Courage and Synchronicity

After recovering from the shock and fear of the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, and as a whole new world unfolded before me, I knew that I was going to inspire others with a message of healing, hope and possibility.

I've been on many radio talk shows, done YouTube videos, been interviewed on Channel 7 News and by Phil Lipof, Boston News Anchor after the Bill Rodgers 5K to benefit Prostate Cancer.

I was blessed to have my story accepted for David Hamilton, Ph.D.'s Tenth Anniversary Edition of "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body."



I listened to David's companion radio show on Hay House Radio UK.

I felt a stirring in my soul to ask him to be a guest on his show. He had read a story from the book on air and I thought wouldn't it be awesome to chat with one of the people whose story he shared in the book?

And then a most unusual thing happened ... I got cold feet.

Old feelings of unworthiness crept in...I mean after all this is Hay House Radio we are talking about and well yes my story was in the book but this would be a really big deal for me. Not me as in me personally but a wonderful venue to touch the lives of others with my story hearing it in my own voice.

I let it go...

David did a Facebook Live on feelings and vulnerability. He shared a story from his book, I <3 Me: The Science of Self-Love about his own journey to self love and feeling empowered and worthy to be his authentic self sharing his wisdom. He was waiting to go on stage at a Hay House Event and experienced a panic attack. He had this overwhelming sense of unworthiness to be among the Hay House thought leaders such as Wayne Dyer. It led him to an exploration of why he felt that way and most important, how to heal those feelings and shift into a state of self-love and compassion.

Right after I heard the Facebook Live talk, I emailed David.

He was delighted to have me be a guest on his show.

We had a wonderful conversation although I must confess I had to push through my nerves. I was star struck talking with David although deep down inside I know that I too am a star for all I have overcome in my life. He was gracious, kind and his passion about my journey healing the effects of paralytic polio and childhood trauma was infectious.

I had a notification on my Author Page on Facebook for both a post on my page and a message.

It was from a woman in London who is struggling with symptoms of Post Polio Syndrome. She heard me on David's show and wanted to learn more about my journey. We became fast friends across the Pond. She is taking the first steps on her healing journey and "just happened" to find David's work. What were the chances?

We've been messaging back and forth and she is going to see David at one of his talks in London. She connected with David on Facebook. She called me her earth angel delivering a message of hope!

If I would not have mustered the courage to reach out to David after receiving the nudge from the Universe via Facebook Live, this woman (and who knows who else) would not have had the opportunity to receive my message of healing, hope and possibility.

It's vital to be able to get over ourselves and live our highest purpose! The Universe will orchestrate the rest of the symphony.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: On Perseverance and Finish Lines

As I edit "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953," I am in awe of how many finish lines I've been blessed to cross and how each one brings with it a distinct memory.

The first finish line I ever crossed was in June 2008. It was a hot day and I hadn't run for more than 40 minutes at a time in my training program on the road to the Boston Marathon. I had no idea what the sport of running and especially racing was all about. I received a wonderful joy filled albeit challenging introduction to my first 5K race. We took this photo back at the car:


The Marathon Sports 5 Miler tested my mettle. I didn't think I was going to finish the race. It was a highly competitive, hot, evening race. We finished dead last and were celebrated as though I broke the tape. Here's a photo of us at the back of the pack winding our way through the back roads with the sweep truck behind us:


My first half marathon was the 2009 Hyannis Half. While I don't have any finish line photos, I slogged through 13.1 miles of cold and sleet to cross the finish line of my first half marathon race. My story was shared in the Cape Cod Times:

Mary McManus, 55, of Brookline completed her first half-marathon after making a remarkable recovery from a life-long battle against post-polio syndrome.

She spent time at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and began running just last February. She competed in her first race in June 2008, finishing a 5K.

“It’s like having a new lease on life,” said McManus, who ran yesterday’s half-marathon with husband Tom. “I was limping my way through life, but then decided to do something about it.”

My greatest finish was crossing the iconic Boston Marathon finish line:


I had to take time off to recover from Boston and there was a question mark about whether or not I would return to the roads given my body's history of paralytic polio and severe trauma. I transformed the question mark into a ....to be continued.

In June of 2010, Tom and I celebrated my comeback at the Charles River Run 5K:


Tom pushed me as we jingled all the way to a PR in the Jingle Bell 5K:


I persevered through elevation and heat to run my first trail race on Spectacle Island. What a spectacular finish for Team McManus:


I trash talked my way to a PR at the Bill Rodgers 5K Run/Walk to Benefit Prostate Cancer. What a celebration after I crossed that finish line:


While feeling the exhilaration of a PR is an incredible experience at the finish line, sometimes crossing that finish line is the manifestation of perseverance and endurance.

In December of 2014 I suffered a serious knee injury that the medical providers said would sideline me from running for the rest of my days. They said I never should have started running and that I should prepare for a total knee replacement in a few years. I turned to holistic healing with chiropractic care, and doubled down my efforts with all that I'd done to get me to that point in my journey harnessing the power of the mind/body connection.

Tom and I crossed the finish line of the 2015 Finish at the 50 5K that marked a new starting line for me:


I decided to go the distance again and signed on for the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon:


Since I had a solid base of mileage and felt triumphant after Bermuda, Tom and I ran the 2016 Hyannis 10K. Smiles for miles as we crossed the finish line together:


Rather than be a "one hit wonder" I took on the challenge of the 2017 Bermuda Half Marathon. At mile 10 things went south for this runner girl but I would not quit. Although every step was a challenge and by mile 12 I could not straighten up, I put one foot in front of the other steadily moving forward to that finish line. An earth angel at mile 12, Jamie-Lee Wright and my husband supported me until I joyfully and triumphantly crossed that finish line:


I have had to dig deep to persevere through the miles on the roads and in my life working hard to overcome the ravages of childhood paralytic polio and trauma at the hands of family members. But the thrill of crossing that finish line makes all the hard work worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears it took to get me there.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Books on the T: Feel the Heal

It's World Polio Day. It's a day to be grateful for how far the world has come in eradicating polio, a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease and the work that needs to be done because polio still threatens children in some parts of the world. The poliovirus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Despite having 5 vaccines, I contracted polio at the age of 5. My best friend's mother was not vaccinated and we were playing together the day before I dropped to the ground in kindergarten class. Her mother was stricken with polio (only a much worse case than I had) on the same day. I was blessed with an earth angel of a physical therapist and physiatrist but all the work we did together could not counter the abuse I endured at the hands of family members from the age of 8 until I was 17. I survived and recovered going on to have an award winning career at the VA; and then at the age of 53 it came to me a second time with the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006.

In February of 2007, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. I was told I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, adapt our beautiful Cape house or move to a ranch and if there was any hope of stabilizing the symptoms where they were (and they were not a pretty sight to behold) I needed to quit my full time award winning career as a VA social worker just 3 years shy of when I was "eligible" for retirement.

As I sat at my dining room table surrounded by print outs from the "new age" teachers, a most remarkable thing happened. I felt the urge to create and I felt gratitude flow through me!

I sat in a leg brace using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility and what did I write about?

Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

It foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run and many many miles filled with smiles, grit and determination.

A spigot opened in my soul. Tragedy turned into triumph through the power of my pen harnessing my imagination as I visualized myself feeling healthy, whole, happy and free. I danced in the rain without my leg brace. I ran unencumbered with beautiful metaphors igniting healing inside of me. My heart opened with gratitude flooding my body with feel good chemicals that stimulated healing. As Dr. Joe Dispenza (and many luminaries in the field of mind/body connection) said, "The subconscious mind does not know the difference between an actual experience that produces an emotion and an emotion that you fabricate by thought alone." Dr. David Hamilton's Tenth Anniversary Edition of "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body" talks extensively about how visualization can help your body to heal. My story is included in this powerful prescription for healing.

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.

I was blessed to "drop" my book, "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" as part of the Books on the T program here in Boston as part of World Polio Day.
>

Here is the tweet from Books on the T:
Today is WorldPolioDay and we’re sharing FeeltheHeal, a book of poetry about surviving and recovering from this devastating childhood illness by Mary McManus. Find it on the T (you may even find it left by Mary!) booksonthet



Riders on the T are going to have the opportunity to feel the heal through the power of my words and be inspired by my transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary




My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Taking a Pause

After ten years of running, challenging myself to the max and doing epic stuff, I've decided it's time to take a pause and celebrate all that I've accomplished. It's also time for me to share my adventures and my story in my next book. What's so awesome is that I am taking a break from racing by choice; not because I am injured. I am thoroughly enjoying running twice a week at the 5K distance playing with improving my time but as important enjoying being outdoors, unplugged, in nature and experiencing all the benefits that running brings. I'm still an integral part of the running community and cheer everyone on in cyberspace during Fall Marathon season. What a thrill to see my friends with their bling, PR's and BQ's. It's energizing and fuels me.

When this morning's alarm went off it was dark and 34 degrees. Well after all what do we expect for late October in New England? Even though there is no race on the horizon, why still get up in the dark and go for a run? Tom will be running the Jingle Bell 5K in December and the Bermuda 10K in January so I could easily let him go off at his own pace but there is something magical, mystical and sacred about our early morning runs regardless of what is on the race calendar.

It is an incredible gift to see the sun rise on a new day. Doing a quick core workout to music, sharing bananas and water and watching the night slowly drift away is a great way to begin a new day and a new week.

There was frost on the grass and as the sun rose higher in the sky, the frost glimmered like diamonds.

The Reservoir was so still that it looked like a painting. In the stillness and silence there is clarity.


We savored all the sensations of our first frosty breaths of the season and the colors that are still vibrant.



Our conversation focused on counting our blessings and gratitude.

We finished our run hungry, ready for breakfast and to experience the warmth of our home:


I'm enjoying this time of taking a pause from running and taking a look back celebrating ten years of running. It's an exciting time for me to share my journey.

Today I was blessed to be a guest on David Hamilton, Ph.D's radio show Hay House Radio.

On Wednesday I'll be dropping my book, "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life," as part of the Books on the T program.

While I may be taking a pause from the excitement of racing and going for PR's, I am experiencing excitement in sharing the power of my story to inspire others.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.