Cogitator Oct 26, 2011

VISITING ROTARIANS

John Nanni, polio survivor and today's guest speaker, hails from Hamilton Township, NJ.  John is in the entertainment business.  Joe Clancy also joined us.  Joe is District 7950's Governor-Elect, comes from the Weymouth Club, and is in the real estate business.  Russ Bertrand, Assistant District Governor from Wakefield, joined us.  Russ works in the field of heating and air conditioning.  And Rona Mann, in communications and from North Kingstown, was with us as well.   

District Governor-Elect Joe Clancy, from Weymouth 

GUESTS

We were happy to have two children of Rotarians joining us--Richard Waterman's son, Richard, and Beth DeGerlia's daughter, Allison.  Also in attendance was Caroline Monti Bradshaw, Cole Middle School's guidance counselor and guest of Mike Balsamo.  And last but not least, our good friend and past Rotarian of the Year, Jerry Meyer visited us, and, provided good press coverage of the day's later events in the East Greenwich Patch.    

PAUL HARRIS AWARD

George Popella announced a 'major' Paul Harris Award milestone.  Wil Yoder was selected as his Paul Harris team's newest award recipient.  This current Paul Harris award for Wil will be his tenth (meaning $10,000 in contributions).  This now qualifies Wil as a Rotary Foundation Major Donor.  Congratulations, times ten, to Wil Yoder!         

50th ANNIVERSARY GALA

Pat Lenihan and committee are already hard at work getting ready for our club's 50th anniversary in 2013.  The big event will be at the Crown Plaza in Warwick, and five people will be recognized for their exemplary service to their community. 

NEW GENERATIONS

Bill TenEyck attended a New Generations district-wide meeting at White's of Westport recently.  It was a productive ideas session, as Rotary continues to reach out to youthful future Rotarians and community leaders via Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Exchange, and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.  

POLIO PLUS, AND BEYOND

Charter member Gill Thorpe took a few minutes to share some club history.  The Polio Plus campaign began in the 1980's.  Rotary International was making a push throughout the world to finally end the scourge of polio.  Each club was asked to pitch in.  Rotarians from that era, Bipin Pancholi (for whom our Rotarian of the Year award is named), Steve Cronin, and Wally Littell all had various experiences with polio as youngsters.   With the impassioned pleas and personal stories from these Rotarians, especially from the indomitable Bipin, who woke up each day thanking Rotary for literally saving his life in India, our club raised $16,000 in one day for Polio Plus.  In all, some $50,000 would be ultimately raised by our club that year.  That stellar achievement would be matched nearly 20 years later, as Rotary once again dug in against a stubborn foe.  Rotary International announced what was hoped to be a last 'push' in wiping out polio from the Earth.  Rotary's Polio Eradication Campaign began during Richard Waterman's presidency in 2002, and, yes, once more, through good leadership and incredible generosity from our club's individual Rotarians, the Rotary Club of East Greenwich again raised over $50,000, bringing our total to over $100,000 in contributions toward Polio Plus and Polio Eradication.

SPEAKER/PROGRAM

John Nanni, polio survivor, Rotarian, and inspirational leader of the 'End Polio Now' walk into town  

It was the summer of 1953, and parents throughout the country were nervous.  Very nervous.  The dreaded polio virus was spreading quickly and everywhere.  It was especially appearing in densely populated parts of the US like New York and New Jersey.   John Nanni's father was on a business appointment in New Jersey when he received an urgent call.  It was nightmarish news.  His ten-month old son, John, had come down with polio and probably wouldn't make it beyond a few days.  He was paralyzed from the neck down, and he was hooked up to an old fashioned iron lung machine.  Miraculously, he lived, although it was a tough road to recovery, one which still has bumps even to this day.   

His paralysis subsided many days later, yet John's aunt noticed that he wasn't getting enough physical exercise in the hospital.  She knew that exercise was the key to recovery.  John's mom took over these duties, massaging and exercising his dormant muscles hour after hour, for days on end.  It was a long and arduous process, and John was fortunate to have such care.  

Years later, as a kid, John was walking, and, even playing sports.  However, he would be winded easily playing sports like baseball.  He joked that his home run swats would only turn out to be doubles, since he didn't have the necessary speed to make it around the bases.  The Salk polio vaccine was introduced around this time, and thankfully, the polio scare began to fade away in America.  

As an adult working in the food industry, John again noticed he was tired all the time and even had serious back pain.  Ten missed diagnoses later, including the removal of his gallbladder and one doctor swearing it was all in his head, John finally met Dr. Richard Bruno, who made the correct assessment--post-polio syndrome.  Post-polio syndrome causes real and serious physical problems such as muscle weakness, sleep apnea, difficulty in swallowing, and short term memory problems.  Approximately 75% of polio victims suffer from these symptoms. 

Looking back, John's optimistically noted, "I'm one of the lucky ones.  I was able to go on with a relatively normal and positive life after polio."  He also pointed out that America responded well to polio victims.  And, so has Rotary.  Polio Plus began in 1985, with the slogan 'We're this close.'  Today, more than 25 years later, we're even closer to the worldwide goal of eradicating polio forever.  But the final battle goes on.  There are still four countries with polio cases, meaning that the immunization campaign continues with Rotary, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other volunteer organizations all banding together and leading the charge.

Lastly, John noted that America's vaccination rate for children has fallen to 70%, mainly due to years of controversy over possible links between vaccines and childhood autism.  He pointed out that America needs to be careful in this area, and that polio most certainly could return in a devastating way to the US.                            

Somehow, miraculously, that little ten-month old from 'The Summer of '53,' John Nanni, did make it.  And here he was on October 26th, 2011, sharing his incredible story with us, and, eagerly leading us on our 'End Polio Now' march into town. 

(Editor's note:  Speaking of miracles, I was surprised yet elated to see John Nanni walk steadily to the podium, after previously and incorrectly reporting in the last Cogitator that John was quadriplegic.  Many happy apologies.  John had a chuckle at the town hall steps when I told him of my error...) 

It was a terrific turnout and effort, and a special congratulations goes to President Mike Gemma for his enthusiastic leadership on 'End Polio Now' day.  It was a great day for the club.     

'End Polio Now' march through East Greenwich.  (Thanks to Jerry Meyer for these pictures.)