No way! Way!

Throughout my 13 year healing odyssey from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma, people (and myself) have often said "No way!" and the Universe and I respond "Way!"

Because of my own journey of transformation, I always held faith that one way or another, our daughter Ruth Anne (see blog post The Missing Piece of the Puzzle) would find her healing path. We had no idea of what that path would look like or when it would happen but we visualized her as healthy and whole, and being able to have a relationship with her.

There were moments when it was very challenging to sustain faith and vision for a future very different from the frequent crises we experienced with Ruth Anne. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be out running with her on a regular basis and that she would be pacing me on the roads as I pace her in her life as she continues to heal and recover, I would have said no way. Yet deep down inside I knew there was a way that was yet to be revealed to us.

Yesterday Ruth Anne and I went on our Wednesday morning run together. It was cooler than it had been in awhile and we decided it would be a good day for her to pace me.



While enjoying the scenes of nature and working on my pace, we talked about politics, family, memories, continued to debrief about these past 3 years of her journey, my journey and the excitement of waiting to hear on her acceptance into U Mass Boston Graduate School of Urban Planning and Community Development. Ever since she received her Bachelors Degree she has wanted to pursue a Master's Degree. The professors she reconnected with during the process of applying to UMass were over the moon excited that she is pursuing her Masters Degree and affirmed her achievements as a student in their classes. What powerful medicine to heal the wounds of the past several years where she had been given every psychiatric diagnosis in the book. One of her "therapists" even told her that she was on the progressive course of a schizophrenic!

Fortunately the psychiatrist she works with knew that she did not fit into any specific diagnostic category and wanted to alleviate the pain and suffering caused by the symptoms. He was greatly relieved when we put the pieces of the puzzle together and worked with us to get a medication regimen that would support her healing!

When you see Ruth Anne and me with our vibrant radiant smiles, you would have no idea of what we have endured to arrive at this moment in our lives. You would probably say..."No way! That's just not possible!" and we would say, "Oh yes Way! it's all so possible!"

To learn more about my healing journey from having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond, be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

My books to uplift and inspire you with powerful messages of healing, hope and possibilities are available on Amazon



From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary