A 35-year-old woman named Shaunta-Maé Alexander has had one of the most intriguing comebacks in life by beating paralysis and will be featuring in her first half marathon come Sunday.
Alexander has made a long journey to the start line of Sunday’s United Airlines New York City Half, not just because she’s from Sacramento, but due to sheer determination.
She is a children’s book author and aspiring actress who has overcome a lifetime of illnesses which include paralysis to run her first half marathon.
RELATED STORIES
According to the New York Post, more than 27,000 athletes will take the 13.1-mile tour of Brooklyn and Manhattan hosted by New York Road Runners.
READ ALSO: ‘Law & Order’ actor convicted of revenge-fueled NYC murder – DA
Alexander is among the organization’s Athletes with Disabilities program and will be guided in the race by Brooklyn-based Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin.
The instructor helped the 35-year-old woman who beat paralysis learn to walk again and hone her track and field skills for the upcoming marathon.
Now, Alexander is not just making quick steps but competing in races. Looking back, she says walking again is a request that was answered by God.
“I was part of the Peloton community, and I saw all of these people in the community running races and doing all of these things,” Alexander said to The Post.
“I told God, if he could restore my walking, my movement, then I would walk like I’ve never walked before. I would run like I’ve never run before, and I would dance like I’ve never danced before.”
The woman once struck with paralysis grew up in foster care and revealed her first major health battle began when she was only nine years old.
Alexander started having stomach pains and trouble keeping food down, and the problems got worse at 12 when she was hospitalized as she attempted to go out to eat.
“I could not get out of the car because the pain was excruciating,” Alexander recalled. “I couldn’t stand up, I couldn’t catch my breath.”
READ ALSO: Offset criticizes Elon Musk for backing pardon of George Floyd’s killer
Then in her time in high school, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic condition that causes swelling and irritation in the digestive tract.
The inflammation and ulcerations can cause side effects like diarrhea, cramps, stomach pain and bloody stools.
“I was the kid that had to have two bags, not just a backpack, but an extra bag with extra underwear, with diapers, with medicine, all these types of things, because I could not control my bowels and because at any point I could be in excruciating pain,” Alexander said.
“I couldn’t participate in activities like everybody else did because of the Crohn’s disease, which really had a major effect on my mental health at the time.”
In 2019, at around 30 years old, Alexander was hospitalized with a severe Crohn’s flare-up caused by food poisoning, which likely unfolded after she took in a fruit smoothie.
During a colonoscopy, she had a rare reaction to anesthesia that left her paralyzed.
“I couldn’t move my arms or legs. I couldn’t speak,” she recalled. “I had cognitive issues and memory problems. If you asked me what five plus two was, I couldn’t answer.”
After a month in the hospital, she was discharged and could only walk with a walker.
She then undertook physical therapy, but she still needed loads of assistance to get back to regularly being active on her feet.
In 2021, she suffered another major setback and became paralyzed from the waist down.
“I got really depressed. I had no quality of life and had been sick my entire life. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said.
Nonetheless, Alexander had a strong determination to change, stating that she was inspired by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo’s love of Peloton.
She began taking arms and light weights classes from her wheelchair with 3-pound weights.
Several weeks later, Alexander bought a Peloton bike and pedaled with her hands, and by April, she could slowly use her legs again. Two months later in June, she took her first live ride and has never looked back.
She later trained on a Peloton Tread, progressing from walking to jogging and running. Alexander completed her first five thousand journey in June 2023 and is now training for the upcoming half marathon.
“Shaunta-Maé is an unstoppable force,” said Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin. “I can’t wait to cheer her on to the finish line.”
Alexander’s story tells us one thing– to react positively and not relent no matter how many times life gets tough in our individual journeys.
She will be aiming for even more with a strong finish come Sunday in the New York half marathon, and her family and friends will be there to cheer her on for her strong spirit.
