Next Wednesday is World Polio Day. So much has been done to eradicate polio in the world but there is still work to be done. No child should have to endure the pain and trauma of contracting polio. I know because I did in June 1959. But my greatest challenge became my greatest gift. Here is a sneak peak preview of my next book, "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
Introduction
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” ~Abraham Lincoln
Once I received the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a disease deemed by Western Medicine Standards to be a progressive neuromuscular disease, I worked hard to live by Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy and the philosophy of many luminaries of the New Age. In December of 2006 life as I had come to know it came to a screeching halt. I was not going to take the diagnosis sitting down.
Sometimes it feels as though life is going to crush us but then we have the opportunity to turn around and crush goals in life! At first I was afraid - very afraid and then I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. The answers came through my pen, what I came to call my divining rod for healing in the form of inspirational poetry; powerful words that inspired mind, body and soul to heal. I was creating my future; a future very different than the one the doctors predicted for me harnessing the power of my imagination to heal. I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, and to anticipate an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged.
I traded in my wheelchair, leg brace and cane for a pair of running shoes. I went on to become an endurance runner. My adventures as runner girl 1953 (the year I was born) started when I was 54 years old!
After writing my second memoir, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance," my friends encouraged me to write another book about my healing odyssey from the effects of childhood paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma. The theme of this book came to me during a run in August 2017. I knew I needed to take a broad brush look at my healing journey across over a decade of healing and to highlight the transformational and redemptive power of the sport of running. Through my running and life adventures my mettle was tested and friendships were forged to last a lifetime. In "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953," I'll briefly take you back to when I contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 and to receiving the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome at age 53.
I’ll answer the question, “How did you go from being told to prepare to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon?”
You’ll be inspired by my response to a major setback of a serious knee injury in December of 2014 that “they” said would sideline me from running for the rest of my days.
It's the 10 year anniversary of when I bought my first pair of running shoes, a perfect time to take a look back and share with you the adventures of this runner girl. In my quest to heal my life, I was led to the sport of running and found the treasure of myself along the way. Come along with me as I share the adventures of a lifetime after life as I had known it came to a screeching halt with the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome.
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.
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