Tony Love

I‘m not a long distance runner. I ran 100m, 110 hurdles, and the 400 m in high schools l. In fact, a year ago, I could hardly imagine running a marathon.

In November 2025, I made the heartbreaking decision to leave the Netherlands and return home to Chicago. I was suffering from severe disc herniations in my back, and despite doing everything I could to find a path toward recovery abroad, I had reached a breaking point.

Back in Chicago, I dedicated myself to healing. I changed my diet, underwent a Panchakarma cleanse, consulted doctors, surgeons, physical therapists, yoga teachers, researchers, prayerful people at Soul City Church, and had countless conversations with ChatGPT. I explored every possibility before deciding that surgery wasn’t the path I wanted to take.

Then one Sunday, representatives from World Vision came to my church inviting people to run the Chicago Marathon.

Something inside me said, “This is going to be part of my comeback story.”

I signed up. Then I convinced my very reluctant parents to join me.

For 26 weeks, we trained together as a family. And last Sunday, my dad and I crossed the finish line and received our medals. ❤️

It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, second only to learning how to surf!

But this journey was never really about running.

It was about realizing
The human body is miraculously resilient.

I’ve learned to trust my body’s capacity to heal, to question even the most qualified opinions, to listen to my intuition, and to take responsibility for understanding what my body needs.

My recovery doesn’t mean everyone can avoid surgery. But it reminds me that one doctor’s opinion doesn’t have to be the end of the conversation.

Explore your options. Ask questions. Listen to your body. Never underestimate its capacity to recover.

Hallelujah it’s miracle my back is healed.

Your healing is possible, too. 🙏❤️

Special shout outs to @keith.s.levy and @levy.juliette for all of your support I couldn’t have done any of this without you.