Lucasdv123

I have never checked with my doctor but I have a funny feeling I may have had polio at one time or another.my right leg is shorter by about 1 to 1 1/2 inch and my foot is about 1 1/2 sizes smaller.i probably walk with a slight limp but it is not noticeable.it has never bothered me though I climbed poles and 28 ft ladders for 33 years before I retired.

DMB70

POlio is now ona rebound in Asia. If you are planning on going to Asia the CDC recomends getting a IPV booster. I is inactivated polio vacine. You can not get polio from it.You only need one shot.
Be safe!

SteveFranz Loc: Durham, NC

Prior to the polio vaccine, mothers worried.

I remember one summer, my mother kept me home alone (we lived on a farm) for fear of going someplace public and being exposed to polio.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

WOW!

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

I had a classmate in school who had polio. He missed 1 full year of school, was away from home in treatment… and keeping him alive, wore braces for a long time after and I think also used crutches for a while. He eventually had a full life and career… retired as Fire Chief, still lives in the same town in Alabama and is in his late 70s. I left that area in 1964 (joined Air Force) but we still correspond… mostly on Facebook.

pendennis

Along with my aunt, I was affected by the last great epidemic of polio, in 1952. I had what was referred to as a "mild" case, in which I lost some upper body strength permanently, along with about 15% of my breathing capacity. My aunt wasn't as lucky. She became a paraplegic, lost nearly 95% of her breathing capacity, and lived for 45 years with that condition, alternating between a chest respirator and iron lung. When the vaccine was available, we got all three Salk vaccines, as well as the later Sabin vaccine. For years, my father and grandfather created a number of products which helped her in her daily life. They fabricated a device so she could help feed herself, design and build a special chair, so she could do some limited travel. IBM donated a then-new technology Selectric typewriter, and the telephone company modified standard instruments so she could dial and use a special headset, to her so she could complete her high school diploma and correspond with her friends and relatives. There were no "standards" in those days, so my father would make drawings of their creations, and give them to the March of Dimes for possible manufacture.

Later, around 1972, I was tested by the pulmonary department at University of Louisville as part of a post-polio study, and they confirmed my loss of breathing capacity at 15%. My initial symptoms were high fever which refused to break, muscle weakness, and general malaise. Our family doctor nearly sent me to the hospital, but my aunt stayed with us to nurse me. She was aged 15 at the time, and contracted the disease about a week after she went back home to rural Kentucky. When her symptoms developed, she collapsed so completely, that she nearly died before an ambulance could get her to Louisville and hospitalization.

Louisville General Hospital was the center of treatment for polio. The halls were literally lined with patients, many of whom died before they could be put in an iron lung or attached to a chest respirator. Parents nursed their own children along with a lot of adults, because the epidemic nearly collapsed the nurses and doctors trying to treat the onslaught of patients.

We both had "post-polio" syndrome years after our initial infections, and some of the aches and pains returned, along with some revived symptoms.

My aunt's health eventually failed. She eventually went on a respirator via a tracheostomy. The long lasting effects of the virus eventually caused her kidneys to fail, and her frail condition prohibited a transplant or extended dialysis.

I've since done some studying of the causes and effects of polio. While there are some differences of opinion, folks who migrated from rural areas were most likely to develop poliomyelitis. It seems that urban dwellers had developed some immunity based on the "herd" concept. Development of a vaccine did take a back seat to the work on finding a vaccine for influenza, which killed far more folks than polio. And there was the inevitable "competition" as to which vaccine would work better. The fear of live virus vaccines (Sabin) lost to the dead virus Salk vaccine, at least until the Sabin vaccine proved to be more effective.

JBRIII

The only disease that can't easily return is Smallpox. There hasn't been a case in decades due to intensive vaccination efforts. I say easily because there is recent evidence it evolved several thousand years ago from a much less virulent version and as we found out there are plenty of other poxes still out there, like monkey pox. Second, the great powers still have the virus in storage and I believe the genetic code was published.

Polio has been close to eradication several times, but conservative fractions in several Muslim areas have fought the vaccination programs. There is also a problem with the live virus now used (sugar cube type) potentially/actually reverting in the wild.

Also, Whooping cough is showing up in adults as the vaccination wears off, even faster for kids getting newer, safer version, so get a booster. This is what we were told when my wife got it just as Covid testing was becoming available. The local Amish call it the hundred day cough, for my wife it lasted > 6 months and she still sees a pulmonologist due to minor, but continuing lung issues, over 3 yrs later. I seemed to be getting it, but antibiotics and stopped it in it's tracks.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

I remember the polio scares of my youth. Too many caught this dreaded disease. We were eager to receive the vaccine when it became available. Many antivaxxers now are fortunate that the rest of us chose to face vaccination risks so that herd immunity is now the norm. Given the fact that I am old, fat and diabetic, I was eager to receive the Covid vaccines when they became available. So far, so good, knock on wood.

JonathanChemE

I contracted polio from someone who became contagious when she took the first dose of the live vaccine. I had friends who didn’t vaccinate so I made certain that my infant had an injection for his first dose. The nurse gave me a hard time about ordering it but the doctor who had worked in a third world country totally understood. I ended up with a limp all my life. I pushed myself. I passed the Army physical fitness test and came in fourth in my ROTC battalion in orienteering (like cross country through the woods with no marked course). I was turned down for the Army due to past medical history. I was an avid photographer until I was 35 and my kit was stolen. I took it up again 5 years ago. I am in a wheelchair now and still travel and take pictures thanks to my loving and devoted wife

Juan Dinero Loc: Southeast Colorado

I had the same card,I was one of the first ones to get it in Denver .I can even remember that there was a TV camera crew that recorded it. My dad vas a doctor and had volunteered me, my two brothers did not get the shot at that time. All 4 of us to get the vaccine were doctor's kids who got volunteered.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I remember getting a liquid "vaccine" in a little paper cap at school, I vaguely remember take a permission slip for my parents to sign. It was sometime around 1952-53

llamb Loc: Northeast Ohio

As an infant I was confined to a "Polio Ward" at a local hospital. A very observant nurse noticed a strange red spot on one of my toes. It was a spider bite and not polio at all. The doctors took appropriate action and the world has enjoyed my presence since. To this day spiders seem attracted to me, maybe I smell like a fly to them.

~Lee

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

I was stationed at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in the late 80's and knew about Cheyenne Mountain Elementary. That school is still there and is one of the best for a good education.

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

EXACTLY!!! But these days where a majority of folks rely on unreliable sources (TIK TOK, FaceBook, etc) for important "facts" disinformation is all the rage and there will be a "reckoning."

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

They are in the process of making our nation that very island, it appears.