By: Ed Fink
You could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice, when Rotarian Randy Sproule stepped up to the podium at a recent meeting of The Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton. Sproule had a story to tell, which was both personal and of grave import. It was a tale about a four year old boy named Warren, a child who, years later, would become Sproule’s dad. The little boy, of whom Randy Sproule spoke, awoke one day, only to discover he couldn’t move his legs. Naturally, the child cried out for his parents. But, there was nothing they could immediately offer. The boy’s diagnosis was the dreaded poliomyelitis (polio).
By: Ed Fink
You could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice, when Rotarian Randy Sproule stepped up to the podium at a recent meeting of The Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton. Sproule had a story to tell, which was both personal and of grave import. It was a tale about a four year old boy named Warren, a child who, years later, would become Sproule’s dad. The little boy, of whom Randy Sproule spoke, awoke one day, only to discover he couldn’t move his legs. Naturally, the child cried out for his parents. But, there was nothing they could immediately offer. The boy’s diagnosis was the dreaded poliomyelitis (polio). Though crutches might have been of some help, the boy’s lack of strength made using them problematic. The cost of a wheel chair was out of reach. After about six months, the child was able to recover some abilities to move, resorting to simply crawling. Eventually, despite some body atrophication, the youngster re-learned the ability to walk. A leg and a foot were compromised. One leg was an inch shorter than the other. The disease and its crippling impact was bad enough, but the boy couldn’t play sports like his classmates, and had to suffer their slights and taunts. According to one source, the 1940’s and 1950’s saw the worldwide peak of the virus. During those times, polio paralyzed or killed more than a half a million people.