A truly marathon endeavour by Limerick's inspirational Mary
Parkinson's patient hopes to complete 5k with friends
A TOURNAFULLA native who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at just 39 is preparing to lace up her runners once again as she takes on the Cook Medical Mini Marathon alongside close friends, Lelia Long and Mary Healy.
Mary Ita O’Connor, who now lives in Milford, Co Cork, has spent decades refusing to allow Parkinson’s to define what she can and cannot do.
Mary (63) is looking forward to taking part in the 5k event in Limerick on October 4, when more than 3,500 people are expected to take to the streets for a variety of personal causes and challenges.
Now, with the Cook Medical Mini Marathon approaching, she cannot wait to get started. "If I finish it I think it’d be more special than any other year. I always get a buzz crossing the line.”
For Mary, crossing the finish line will carry particular significance after a difficult year in which serious injuries and mobility problems left her wondering if her running days were over. “My hand was so bad I finished with the running. I was devastated because I love hurling and running. They’re my two passions,” Mary explained.
Mary said the Parkinson’s was initially gradual and didn’t greatly affect her life, but a series of falls in 2015 marked a huge change. After falling at work and fracturing two ribs, she was preparing to return to work when she fell again, fracturing another two ribs.
Further medical examinations revealed extensive damage to her right hand, including tendonitis, a tendon tear, inflammation and fluid in the joints. Mary also discovered that she had dislocated her shoulder and chipped two bones in the process.
The injuries meant Mary had to use a wheelchair for almost two months to take the weight off her injured hand. She was introduced to a gutter frame, which allows her to walk while providing additional support.
For the past few months, Mary has been getting up at around 5.45am and walking a lap of a field using her gutter frame before putting it aside and running laps unaided. True grit.