When Mary McManus received the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards in December of 2006, she refused to take the diagnosis sitting down. She was told to prepare to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair and expect an accelerated decline in functioning as she aged. She was at the height of her award-winning career as a social worker at the Boston VA Outpatient Clinic just 3 years shy of retirement. In February of 2007, she got still and asked for Divine Guidance as she often had when facing challenges throughout her life. The poem “Running the Race” flowed out of her followed by an anthology of poems that harnessed the power of the mind/body connection. The runner within Mary was born in her imagination. In May of 2007, Mary took a leap of faith leaving behind her career to heal he ...