Leana S. Wen’s shocking Aug. 18 op-ed about the reemergence of polio in the United States because of a lack of vaccination in certain areas, “Polio’s return is a health emergency. And a tragedy.,” asked people who experienced this disease to remind our younger friends of what it was like.
Democracy Dies in Darkness
Opinion I remember polio
By Letters to the Editor
In 1954, the year of the last major outbreak in the United States before the 1955 vaccine, the epidemic struck my father, 30, my sister, 6, and my brother, 2. My father was the hardest hit. He had all three types of polio and was paralyzed for a while. I was 4 years old and have vivid memories of my father immobile on the couch, my mother shooing us to a neighbor’s; my father gone and then returning home and “crawling” along the hall using his arms to propel himself; my sister’s months of physical therapy to strengthen a weakened foot; my father’s face looking like it would slide down off his chin; and strong undercurrents of my parent’s fear. Would he walk again? Work? Would we all get sick too?
With the support of my amazing mother, help from the March of Dimes and years of physical therapy, Dad recovered. Like many polio victims from this period, he pushed himself to his maximum capacity and eventually led a full and active life. But he could never run, play sports, ride a bike, hike, pick up and carry his kids, take stairs and curbs easily, dance or eat spicy foods, which made him choke.
I cannot imagine why anyone would risk getting polio. To those who have not done so, I have one message: For your own sake, for the sake of those you love, and for all of us, get vaccinated.
Kathryn Winthrop, Washington
