As I mentally prepare to run the Finish at the 50 next Wednesday, I take pause and give thanks for the miracle of healing in my life and earth angels who have been there to bless my life with healing and love.
My desire to compete despite knowing that there will be thousands of runners who finish before me comes from Joseph Stetz who is now an angel in heaven.
He was my camp counselor at Badger Day Camp when I was only 11 years old. He gave up an Olympic bid in the 1964 Olympic Trials in the butterfly to go to medical school but was passionate about swimming and competition. Despite my history of paralytic polio and clear lack of athleticism as a result of having contracted polio, Joe entreated me to compete in the end of summer camp Olympics in the butterfly competition. I told him that I wouldn't be able to do that outlining all of my fears, but Joe would not let me make excuses. He told me he would coach me one on one and get me ready for race day. There were only two other campers signed up for the butterfly in my age group and I was therefore guaranteed a place on the podium and a plaque. True to his word, he worked with me on turns and jumping off the racing block which were my two biggest fears and coached me on technique for the butterfly. After I finished in 3rd place, he extended a hand to me to help me get out of the pool and proudly led me to the podium where I proudly clutched my plaque while they announced the winners!
We exchanged letters while he was in medical school and he wrote me beautiful letters of support as I wrote to him about my medical challenges. I couldn't tell him about the trauma I endured every night but his letters brought a healing balm to the pain I experienced. We lost touch through the years but his touch never left my heart.
While reading the Boston Globe obituaries one day, I saw his death notice. I was in shock. We both worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton during the same time. He was a cardiothoracic surgeon and I was a psychiatric social worker on the inpatient unit. He died in a single car accident shortly after retirement. At the starting line of the Bermuda 10K this year, I "just happened" to be standing next to a nurse from St. Elizabeth's Hospital who "just happened" to have worked with Joe. We were both in awe of this 'meeting' during which she had a chance to hear about Joe's life before he became a doctor and I heard about his life at St. E's. She told me that he didn't plan to retire but he was changing the oil in his car when he had an accident that left permanent damage and he could no longer perform surgery. It was in many ways a tragedy that he died at the age of 62 but he blessed and saved so many lives during his time here as an earth angel. He certainly blessed mine and planted the seeds for me to become a competitor in the sport of running at the age of 54!
I "just happened" to meet Dr. Ryan J. Means or Dr. Ryan as he likes to be called after I sustained a serious knee injury in December of 2014. Here's a photo of us together before he left for China in August of 2015:
And our reunion in New York City in November of 2016:
He is a doctor of chiropractic. Our time working together was brief because he left for to China several months after I met him but he helped me to pick myself up and get back to the serious business of healing my life after doctors, PT's and a massage therapist told me my running days were over and I should prepare for a total knee replacement within a few years. All that I set into motion through the power of my pen, my divining rod for healing and the hard work I had done to heal my life, catapulted me into Dr. Ryan's vortex and together we co-created another miracle of healing in my life.
I will be taking both Dr. Ryan and Joe with me to the starting line of the Finish at the 50. Finish at the 50 2015 was my comeback race after the injury and a turning point in my healing journey. I went on to defy the diagnoses and prognosis of Post Polio Syndrome and that knee injury and went on to run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons.
Tom and I will be running as part of Team Big Heart, a group of runners who support The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation. Part of their mission is spreading acts of kindness and leaving heart imprints sending out ripples of love and kindness into the world.
I may not run fast but I run with heart and a heart overflowing with gratitude for the earth angels and healers who helped me transform and transcend beyond childhood paralytic polio and trauma.
You can read more about how Joe and Dr. Ryan and other earth angels blessed my life in "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" and my trilogy of transformation available on Amazon.
From my heart to yours
In Health and Wellness,
Mary
Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com
Hear my interview with Kendra Petrone on Magic 106.7's Exceptional Women Show by following this link
My books are available on Amazon and "Feel the Heal" and "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" are available in Natick Center Cultural District at Paula Romero Dunbar's Celebration Boutique Paper Fiesta coincidentally located on Mile 10 of the Boston Marathon Route. Proceeds from the sale of books for June and July are being donated to The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation to support Tom's Falmouth Road Race. You can also donate directly by following this link.
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