From Chronic Pain to Marathon: A Miraculous Healing Journey

On a scale from one to ten, with one being no pain at all and ten being unbearable pain, how would you rate your pain today?”

It was the umpteenth time I had heard that ques­tion. Because of my ongoing battle with chronic pain, I had been answering it with some pretty big num­bers for quite awhile. But now I decided it was time for a shift.

“Sorry, I’m not going to answer that anymore,” I replied. “I’m not here for my pain; I’m here for my health.” That year, 1999, I was a student at Palmer College of Chiropractic. My student doctor raised his eyebrows as I continued, “Just adjust my spine so we can turn on life! From now on, let’s focus on enhanc­ing my health and not on fighting my disease.”

A Faint Glimmer Shines Through The Clouds of Pain, Fear, and Despair

I wish I could tell you that after my epiphany, the clouds parted, a divine light shone down upon me from above, and I hopped off of the adjusting table and danced out the door, free of pain forever. But that did not happen. I struggled upright and shuffled out the door just as I had come in: with a slow, painful limp. Still, in that moment, with that declaration, a faint glimmer of my divine inner light began to shine through the clouds of pain, fear, and despair.

For the previous eighteen years — since age twenty-three — I had been waging an all-out battle against inflammatory arthritis. I felt as though the pain had ruined my life. Instead of enjoying the rec­reational activities I had loved so much, my arthritis kept me sidelined. When I should have been roller­blading with my son, I was riding my recliner.


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Arthri­tis robbed me of joy, sleep, intimacy, and success, and it forced an early end to the Marine Corps career that I loved. In my struggle to defeat the disease, I enlisted every ally I could find: conventional medicine, herbs, chiropractic, acupuncture, past-life regression, green-lipped mussel extract...you name it. Yet, the harder I fought, it seemed, the stronger the suffering became.

The Healing Masters of Today and of Bygone Years

As my agonizing journey progressed, I started reading the works of the healing masters of today and of bygone years. Each book benefited me and expanded my horizons in some way. The book that I found the most life-changing — the one that reached deepest into my soul and left me feeling most empow­ered — was Peace, Love & Healing  by Bernie Siegel. Bernie’s thoughts on self-love and inner peace guided me to turn my gaze inward, and it was there — deep inside my self — that I finally saw light at the end of my long, dark, painful tunnel.

As a chiropractic student, I had learned of the magnificent Innate Intelligence that is integral to every living being. I found wonderful teachers who helped me shift my focus from fighting pain to releas­ing my glorious human potential. The moment that I chose to no longer rate my pain on a scale from one to ten, I stopped fighting and began loving every aspect and manifestation of myself as a beautiful and perfect being.

Now, fast-forward to September 2005. In the midst of yet another arthritis flare-up, I woke up one morning and felt...different. I was still in pain but somehow, deep inside, I sensed that something had shifted. The new consciousness that had taken root years earlier was finally blossoming at the physical level. Over the next few weeks, my flare-up subsided far more quickly than any flare-up ever had.

Run Body Run

From Chronic Pain to Marathon: A Miraculous Healing JourneyThe fol­lowing May, I entered an event in Spokane, Washing­ton, called the Lilac Bloomsday Run. Many of the fifty thousand people who sign up for Bloomsday choose to walk the entire twelve-kilometer course. My fellow walkers and I were assigned to a separate color-coded “Lilac Group,” which steps off after all the runners are on their way.

As I took my place at the front of the Lilac Group, I decided to try jogging — just a little — to see how it would feel. I fleetingly toyed with the idea of trying to run a half mile, then immediately dismissed the foolish notion. “It would take a mira­cle,” I thought, “for me to run that far.”

I started jogging and felt pretty good. That first half mile came and went, and I was still running! Before I knew it, I was trotting past the one-mile marker, then the two-mile marker...and kept running for four miles before I stopped to walk for a short dis­tance.

When I crossed the finish line, I had run about six miles of the seven-and-a-half-mile event. Running across that finish line was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. It was the first time I had run four miles nonstop in over twenty-five years and the first time I had run at all in over eleven years!

Do Miracles Exist?

I took up running again and even became a tri­athlete. The following year, at age forty-nine, I com­peted in two triathlons including the 70.3-mile Grand Columbian, which consisted of a 1.2-mile open water swim, a hilly and challenging 56-mile bike ride, and a sweltering 13.1-mile run.

At age fifty, I took up snow-boarding and, at age fifty-one, joined a dodgeball league in which I was twenty years older than almost everyone else in the league. That’s right, dodgeball! And I’m still going strong!

Do miracle cures exist? Of course they do. Right inside.

©2011, 2014 by Bernie S. Siegel. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,

New World Library, Novato, CA 94949. newworldlibrary.com.


This article is excerpted with permission from Chapter 8 (Creating Miracles) of the book:

A Book of Miracles: Inspiring True Stories of Healing, Gratitude, and Love
by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel.

A Book of Miracles, Dr. Bernie S. SiegelBernie Siegel first wrote about miracles when he was a practicing surgeon. Compiled during his more than thirty years of practice, speaking, and teaching, the stories in these pages are riveting, warm, and belief expanding. Without diminishing the reality of pain and hardship, the stories show real people turning crisis into blessing by responding to adversity in ways that empower and heal. They demonstrate what we are capable of and show us that we can achieve miracles as we confront life’s difficulties.

Click Here For More Info or to Order This Book on Amazon.


About the Author of this excerpt

Dr. Mark William CochranDr. Mark William Cochran's walk on the healing path has not only been physical, but also a journey of the soul. Of his many years in pain, Mark remembers, "I tried everything. And I've learned that what serves us best is simple. We are born with the most important and powerful healing gift: Life!" Dr. Mark is a thought leader in today's healthcare arena, and brings a unique perspective to his writing.

About the Author of the book

siegel bernieDr. Bernie S. Siegel, a sought-after speaker and media presence, is the author of many bestselling books, including Peace, Love and Healing: 365 Prescriptions for the Soul; and the blockbuster Love, Medicine & Miracles. Visit his website at www.BernieSiegelMD.com