I was born in December 1952, that year was considered an epidemic year for polio, 58,000 new cases and 3,000 deaths. I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I started to hear things about polio but I do remember having to go to the doctor for those darn shots, they hurt like heck but they prevented the disease, I think this was around 1955.
My Mom used to talk about how everyone would avoid going anywhere near a house where someone had come down with polio and how terrified parents of young children were if they came into contact with someone who had the disease in the active stage
Once the vaccine use became widely available the fear of the disease lessened but there were a lot of reminders. There was a young man in our neighborhood a few years older than me who contracted the disease when he was young. Just about every day he would walk down the street to the bus using those special crutches (I think they were aluminum) struggling to take one very slow step at a time. He was a very talented piano player, when the high school had a musical program he would walk across the stage on his crutches then play beautiful music.
When the oral vaccine vaccine became available I remember standing in a very long line with a lot of people to take that sugar cube.
The point to this post, please keep those affected in your prayers and pray that the scientists out there can find a solution to this virus.
My Mom used to talk about how everyone would avoid going anywhere near a house where someone had come down with polio and how terrified parents of young children were if they came into contact with someone who had the disease in the active stage
Once the vaccine use became widely available the fear of the disease lessened but there were a lot of reminders. There was a young man in our neighborhood a few years older than me who contracted the disease when he was young. Just about every day he would walk down the street to the bus using those special crutches (I think they were aluminum) struggling to take one very slow step at a time. He was a very talented piano player, when the high school had a musical program he would walk across the stage on his crutches then play beautiful music.
When the oral vaccine vaccine became available I remember standing in a very long line with a lot of people to take that sugar cube.
The point to this post, please keep those affected in your prayers and pray that the scientists out there can find a solution to this virus.
