Post-Polio
Fred Israel introduced his friend and lawn bowling colleague Don West. Don suffered infantile paralysis, as it was known then, Polio now, as a child. It is known that polio has been around since at least the early Egyptians, often spreading at epidemic rates. In the 1950's thousands of Canadian children suffered from it but Salk's vaccine proved effective in eradicating it in North America and RI's Polio Plus program has all but eliminated it everywhere else. It's hard to find people now who remember how awful it was for people then.
Don grew up to be a teacher and a publishers representative, married and raised a family and returned to Midland in retirement. Now he's suffering from post polio syndrome and he was willing to share a bit about his experiences.
Don said he'd contracted polio as a child and he remembered schools being closed till after Thanksgiving and the Exhibition being cancelled. Most people now have no conception of the effect it had on society, the concern. It attacks the neurons and can affect either the lungs (requiring an iron lung) or the muscles, causing varying degrees of paralysis. Don had lived on a frame for two years, some required a wheelchair, some were more moderately affected.
Once the neurons are damaged, they can grow sprouts which can carry the electrical impulses to the muscles that are cut off when the neurons fail. This allows some recovery and some messages to reach the muscles but 40 years later the sprouts start to fail, they are insufficient for the long term and this is post polio. At the moment post polio is forever but stem cell research may hold out some hope.
Symptoms are chronic pain and fatigue which pills, sleep, heat, adaptive technologies and mild exercise sometimes help. Sufferers are also more susceptible to cold and he goes south for winter months. Don says it's hard to make yourself heard as a member of society when you're stumbling or stuttering and it affects your image of yourself and in the eyes of others. About 160,000 people are suffering from post now in Canada. Anti inflammatories help but they lead to gastric distress, depression and anger, especially at uninspired municipal officials who make it hard for people to get around. Curb cutting and other efforts are beginning to make life a little easier.
There aren't many doctors around now who've treated Polio and most of them need training on post but they're becoming more aware now. Rotary is doing wonderful work worldwide on Polio Plus, along with others like the March of Dimes.
Many have it - David Onley who grew up here and who is now our Lieutenant Governor, King George VI, FDR, Joni Mitchell, both Paul Martins.
Don said it is service clubs like this one that make communities vibrant - it's volunteers that make a community - and he thanked the Club for all it was doing. Dean mentioned that at Don and Irene's 50th people were asked to contribute to the wheelchair project and enough was raised to almost pay for one, which contribution will end up as a credit to our club.
Rob thanked Don for making the Club aware of this aspect of Polio which is not much discussed and suggested that when Polio is eradicated International could turn Polio Plus into Post Polio Plus. Steve added that Midland Rotary has been contributing to Polio Plus regularly and significantly for years and that Gates has given 260 million, to be matched by RI to finish the job - last year there were only 1,313 cases in 4 countries. It can be done.