I’m 64, and remember when the first polio vaccines came out, in the 50s. All in all, I’ve known 5 people who’d had polio . . . not counting people with no visible effect. How many people have you known, if any? And please give your age.
Sort of. The person is probably in her 50’s. She doesn’t have polio…per se. She has a very very bad limp (I assume a her leg is deformed) from the polio vaccine.
Did we have to know them while they had polio? I’m 38, and I knew a great-uncle had polio as a youth, and lost the ability to walk. Nobody else that I know of.
No, they don’t have to still have the active virus . . . but were suffering from the effects when you knew them.
My middle school biology teacher, but her case must not have been severe as she could walk normally. There was also a girl at my high school who caught it because her parents refused to get her immunized. She could not walk and was in one of the special classes.
For the record, I’m exactly at mid forties.
My ex-wife’s aunt (the youngest sibling of my father-in-law) contracted polio very shortly before the vaccine became available. She can walk short distances with crutches, but uses a wheelchair most of the time. She’s still going strong.
I’m 63. There was a kid in grade school who contracted it. We all contributed dimes and nickels to help pay for his iron lung. My cousin’s father died of polio at age 27, leaving a widow and a 2-year old.
Yes - I used to know a lady who shopped at a consignment store I worked at on weekends.
One of her feet was a size 5 and the other a 9 due to polio. She always had to buy 2 pairs of shoes ('cus no amount of insoles is gonna turn a 5 into a 9).
She shopped at the store because they also clear and would have cute shoes in odd sizes so she could get a pair for a reasonable price. Sadly, she was also a total shoe girl. I always thought she would have had an easier time with handbags.
I’m 50. My mom had polio when she was 28 and spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Had 4 more kids after for a total of 8.
I’m 52. One of my classmates in grade school had had polio. Can’t remember what after-effects he had, except that they were mild.
One of my coworkers (she’s probably 10 years older than me) had polio when she was younger. She wears braces on her lower legs most of the time because her legs have become weaker as she’s aged.
I’m 36 and have met a couple of older people who had it. One woman in her 60’s said that she turned 8, got this great new bike and rode it all over, and the next day she was sick. She walks, but uses crutches or something.
My step-dad’s good friend from childhood got polio when they were kids. He’s in his mid-70’s. He doesn’t walk too well but he gets along.
I went to high school with a girl who had polio, leg braces, hunch back and other problems. Took her to Prom. I carried her during the dances. She died at about 25. Gutsy girl and always laughing & smiling… Known a few others who had it easier. Knew two that died quick.
I’m going to be 67 in a few months…
World is round.
It ain’t fair,
Just damn round…
I’m in my late 50’s. I remember standing in line for a shot of the Salk vaccine, then several years later getting the series of oral Sabin vaccines.
I only recall one specific individual who’d had polio, an art teacher at my junior high school. What I mostly remember is the spectre of polio. Fear of swimming in certain places lest one catch it. The default assumption for why someone limped, or was in a wheelchair. As a schoolkid, I witnessed society’s regard for polio transform from dark fear to relieved apathy.
My mother had it when she was a child, probably in the 30s. She had no long term ill effects and said it was like a bad dose of flu in her case as far as she could recall.
My uncle had it when he was around 8 (around 60 years ago). My dad was 4, and remembers how they had to have separate rooms at home and remain isolated, with my uncle in some sort of iron lung thing. He’s obviously fine now (had 2 kids and was a keen cricketer as a teen) but dad does think it’s had some impact on his health long term. This was in Melbourne Australia.
I’m 37. My mom got bulbospinal polio in 1950 when she was six years old. It didn’t manage to kill her until she was 64.
I’ve met quite a few members of the post-polio support group my mom belonged to, and a couple of her friends from the children’s hospital where she spent so much time.
I also had an English professor, an elderly Catholic sister, who had had it as a child.
OT, but that is AMAZING:eek: that when you were in school, a kid would be forced into special classes just b/c they couldn’t walk!!!. NOT b/c of cognitive issues…but purely PHYSICAL issues!
I’ve known three people over the years who had it, all of them before I was born in 62. One is entirely without noticeable symptoms until you start looking, then she has a slight limp. The other two have severe leg problems.
My mom’s cousin had polio as a child. He is getting close to 80 now and has always had some general weakness in his legs, but only wore braces for a short time as a kid.
One of my teachers in grade school had it as a child. She walked with a limp. She would be in her mid-seventies now, if she’s still living.
I never knew anyone close to my own age (mid forties) with it.