Shaunta-Maé Alexander took a long trip to the starting line on Sunday United Airlines New York Halfnot just because she is from Sacramento, California.
The aspiring actress, author of a book for a 35-year-old child, overcomes a lifelong illness, even paralysis, to run her first half marathon. More than 27,000 athletes will be taking part in a 13.1-mile tour of Brooklyn and Manhattan, hosted by New York Road Runners.
Alexander is part of the organization Athlete Disabled Programand she is led to the race by Tunde Oyeneyin. The Brooklyn-based Peloton instructor learned to walk again with Alexander, helping her hone her athletic abilities.
“I'm part of the Peloton community and I've seen all these people in the community run the races and do all of this,” Alexander told the Post.
“I told God,” she continued. I run like I've never run before, and dance like I've never danced before. ”
Growing up in foster care, Alexander said her first major health issues appeared when she was nine years old.
She began to struggle to contain her stomach ache and food. The problem got worse – and she was hospitalized at 12:00 while she was about to go out to eat.
“The pain was unbearable and I couldn't get out of the car,” recalls Alexander. “I couldn't get up, I couldn't hold my breath.”
Finally, when she was in high school, Alexander was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease is a chronic condition in which the digestive tract is irritated and causes swelling.
Inflammation and ulcers can promote troublesome side effects such as diarrhea, stomach pain, cramps, and bloody stool.
“I was a kid who had to have two bags with not just a backpack, but also a diaper, medication, and extra underwear with all these types of things.
“Because of Crohn’s disease, I couldn’t take part in the kind of activities that nobody else had done.
The other condition is “just like it's just keeping stacked” – the pot is the fast heartbeat when you rise from a sitting or lying position, when the capsule surrounding the heart becomes inflamed.
Then in 2019, when she was around 30, Alexander returned to the hospital with a severe flare-up of clones due to food poisoning. She suspects she got it from a fruit smoothie.
She had a colonoscopy, so the doctor can assess the extent of her intestinal damage – Rare response to anesthesia She was paralyzed while being used in the procedure.
“I couldn't move my arms. I couldn't move my legs. Alexander explained. “I had cognitive problems. I had memory problems. I couldn't convey anything simple like mathematics. When I asked what 5 plus 2 is, I couldn't tell you.”
When she was discharged from the hospital about a month later, she was able to walk with the pedestrians. Physiotherapy helped some, but she still had trouble moving her legs without assistance.
She suffered from a big set in 2021 and was paralyzed from her lower back.
“I was really depressed and had no real quality of life, I was giving up because I was sick for the rest of my life. This was the straw that broke the camel's back for me,” said Alexander.
In January 2022, she decided to make changes. Motivated by the “Evil” star Cynthia Eribo's love for pelotonshe started taking Oinaiin Arm and lightweight class From a wheelchair weighing 3 pounds.
A few weeks later, she bought a Peloton bike and pitched it by hand for hours a day. That April she was able to walk slowly on her feet and did her first live ride with Oyneyin in June.
In November, her family helped her buy Peloton tread When she was about to walk on her own.
“We don't hear much about how patients and individuals go from paralysis and paralysis that doesn't use muscles and any kind of injuries. Returning to re-activating those muscles and reactivating those joints, how incredibly painful it can be, but it was so much,” she said.
Alexander focused on her walking and strength training. Eventually I went to walking on the treadmill and jogging and running.
She finished her first 5K in June 2023 and has since finished several races.
Now she's ready for the first half marathon. Alexander is fundraising NYRR Team for Kids “To support the kids who were like me. The weak. The other. The one who didn't fit.”
She has come a long way – and she has to go a little further.
“Shaunta-Maé is an unstoppable force. She is an inspiration and the fact that I was able to play a role in how far she came is a huge honor,” Oyneyin told the Post. “I can't wait to cheer her on through every step up to that finish line.”
