Ali McManus Overcomes Medical Issues To Perform At Arts, Beats And Eats

ROYAL OAK, MI — For Ali McManus, Sunday’s Arts, Beats and Eats performance was a triumph. Born with a rare bone disorder and other medical issues, the 20-year-old Oakland University student knows a thing or two about overcoming obstacles.

To hear her sing, you’d never know that she only has about 30 percent lung capacity. Though she is currently bound to a wheelchair, McManus’ music can’t be grounded and her fighting spirit is heard in every note she sings.

The Bloomfield Hills resident spent most of her early life in hospitals getting treatments and surgeries, according to a WWJ report. McManus told the media outlet she does not let her physical ailments define or her music.

“I write inspirational songs that hopefully benefit the listener or the audience in a positive way,” McManus told WWJ. “I want to show people that, you know, look, I’m up there doing it — you can do it too, no matter if you’re in a wheelchair or any problem that you have, you can overcome that.”

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She was set to perform on Ford’s Alternative Rock stage on Sunday at Arts, Beats and Eats. “Unbreakable,” her debut album, will be released this fall.

McManus was born several months premature, the Detroit News reported earlier this year. Besides the bone disorder, she also had to deal with osteoporosis and scoliosis.

Her spine, in fact, was so twisted, it was literally crushing her lungs and stomach, she told the Detroit News. McManus spent the better part of a year at Shriners Hospital in St. Louis having it straightened at age 13. It jumped her lung capacity from 19 to 30 percent.

Earlier this year, she spent a week in Los Angeles recording Unbreakable. She worked with producer Jack Douglas, who’s has also with John Lennon and Aerosmith, among others.

Photo courtesy of Oakland University