I had brain surgery 2 months ago and now I’m running the NYC Half Marathon — anything is possible
NY Post
This New Yorker’s recovery should have been a marathon — but her resilience made it a sprint.
Leanna Scaglione was once wheelchair-bound and is recovering from a brain surgery she underwent two-and-a-half months ago, but this Sunday, she’s taking to the streets to run the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.
“I just couldn’t see myself being in this wheelchair for the rest of my life,” the 32-year-old told The Post. “It was pure stubbornness that kind of drove me.”
It’s been a long haul for Scaglione, who was training to be a ballerina but suffered a dance-related hip injury at age 16. An MRI found something much worse — she developed a tumor “the size of a grapefruit” in her lower spine.
“I was not able to stand upright on my leg with full pressure for more than, like, five seconds,” she said. “Unfortunately, it left me in a wheelchair, unable to walk and stand.”
Scaglione said it took her about a year and a half to stand up and she “slowly but surely just continued to live out my life” as she learned to walk again.
