Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maria Papalia-Meier . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maria , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I created “thetoelessrunner” because I thought it would be something unique that people would want to look up and see what it is all about. I lost my toes in October of 2014 after surviving Septic Shock. I went into Septic Shock from a strep infection I didn’t know I had. I was given pressor drugs while in the ICU, these meds restricted the blood flow to my extremities. When I woke up my feet were black from my ankles to the tips of my toes. I went into the hospital on June 18th, came home August 8th and had my toes amputated in October.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Sometimes things happen in our lives that we didn’t plan for and it changes our path. For me that happened on June 18,2014, just a few weeks after my 40th birthday. I went into Septic Shock from a strep infection I didn’t know I had. I spent a little over 7 weeks in the hospital/rehab, two of those weeks in a medically induced coma. In October of 2014, due to pressor meds I was given in the hospital, I had to have my toes amputated. I started the “Toelessrunner” website for two reasons:
1. to spread the word about Sepsis. Most people learn about Sepsis/Septic Shock after they themselves go thru it or have a loved one that goes thru it. Awareness is key in survival as well as avoiding serious illness and possible amputation. I am lucky to be alive, had I known the signs I may not have gotten as sick as I did.

2. To let people know that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. After loosing my toes and trying everything I could to run again, things were not working in my favor and at one point I was told I should find a different sport. As runners know, once a runner, always a runner. I knew in my heart I would run again, I just needed to figure out how to get there. My road was not easy and I had a lot of ups and downs, but to date I have run multiple 1/2 marathons and I am training for my first full marathon in December.
My mindset shifted when I focused on what I was doing and the improvements I was making, rather on what I couldn’t do, which at the time was running.

Out on one of my runs I came up with the following quote “Celebrate the little victories in life, those can lead to the biggest changes”. I believe if people take their larger goal and what they want and break it down into smaller goals they can attain along the way , they will achieve success like I did.

I have a butterfly logo that was designed by my high school friend The butterfly is a sign of new beginnings and after my illness I knew my life would never be the same, and that was ok, I was going to be a new me a stronger me. The butterfly incorporates the Sepsis Logo.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When my book was close to being published, Pam who helped author the book, suggested I get on social media. At the time the only social media account I had was facebook. I eventually started a twitter account, instagram account and developed my own website. I started following individuals who were my target audience, Runners, Survivors, Authors, people in the medical field, people that posted about Sepsis. I would also look thru their list to see who they followed and see if any of their followers would be individuals I would like to follow.
I also joined various different groups related to my target audiences.
Like anything it takes time and a lot of work. At times I experience social media burn out. The more I posted the more I was getting seen and that led to different individuals inviting me to do podcast, speak and do interviews like this one.
It is important to engage with people. I took as many free classes as I could, about how to post on social media, there is so much I didn’t know, still a lot I don’t know but I have a better sense of how things work and how to engage my audience. One mistake I think I made was having a social media company help me with my postings, it helped me get likes, and some follows and I was able to learn how they posted different things to gain engagement, but I feel it turned some people away. Be you, be genuine, help others and they will help you. Likes and shares are free and really help boost your social media presence!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

After surviving Septic Shock, my whole life changed. My career was no longer, I lost my ability to run, for awhile I lost the ability to take care of myself and do all the things I used to enjoy doing, One day I realized I could take what happened to me and wallow in self-pity or I could take what happened to me and turn it into something positive. I chose the latter.
I found my purpose and I am living my best life. Being told that running was not going to be an option for me devastated me.
It took me years to get where I am now and the journey was not easy. Along the way I would have multiple surgeries on my left foot, I would start running and then run into an issue with my orthotic (I had them initially but no longer use) . I would allow myself to have a “down day” where I would feel sorry for myself but then I was back at it. I knew if I could do this I could use my story to help others. If I could help just one person it would make everything I went thru worth it.
I didn’t quit because it was hard. It was hard both physically and emotionally.
I didn’t give up and now I have been able to connect with people from all over the world and help them thru their journeys.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thetoelessrunner.com
• Instagram: thetoelessrunner
• Facebook: @thetoelessrunner
• Linkedin: Maria Papalia-Meier
• Twitter: @PapaliaMeier