Yvonne Collery Both my mother and Linda contracted polio during the 1955 epidemic. Linda and her family lived in the apartment below us, and she and I grew up together. Linda was just 11 weeks old when she contracted polio and was left with paralysis in her right leg. Since learning to walk, she has relied on a rigid KAFO …
Shared peer advice from polio survivors about what works for them.
Share your solution:
News about people who have made significant contributions to the disability community.
Share your story:
The Hidden Value of Peer Support Groups
For many polio survivors, living with the late effects of polio can sometimes feel like navigating uncharted territory. Doctors may not always be familiar with the long-term impact of polio, and friends and family, while supportive, may not fully understand what it means to manage fatigue, weakness, pain, or changing functional abilities decades after recovery. That’s why peer support can …
Beyond Polio: Resources for Aging Well with a Disability
For many polio survivors, the late effects of polio are only part of the picture. As the years go by, aging itself brings new considerations—joint pain, balance concerns, changes in stamina, or chronic health conditions that have nothing to do with polio. While it’s important to address post-polio issues specifically, polio survivors also benefit from tapping into broader resources designed …
The Weight of Caring when the Carer Can’t
Frances Henke, Hastings, Australia Writing about the physical impact of caring for, then loss of, a spouse as a polio survivor may seem self-serving, but in this case, having talked to others, I realized there were valuable shared experiences worth passing on. When daily routines that match our abilities are suddenly added to, life can become debilitating. The person we …
What Having Had Polio Causes, Might Cause and Does Not Cause
Introduction: As time has elapsed since the major poliomyelitis epidemics ended, following the widespread introduction of the polio vaccines, persons affected by polio, their families and their healthcare providers seem to have less and less clear understanding about what symptoms are caused by polio, which are associated with polio and which are not. Many healthcare providers in practice today have …
“Not Going Is Not an Option”
Jann Hartman, Seattle, Washington I grew up believing in fairy tales and loved stories that ended “happily ever after.” Even when I got polio in 1953 at almost 6 years old and spent most of that year in the hospital, I still believed that everything would work out for the best. I met my “knight in shining armor,” we got …
Diabetes and Post-Polio Syndrome: Conditions Which Are Chronic but Manageable
Jann Hartman, Baltimore, Maryland I was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome in 1989, and I assumed that my extreme exhaustion was due to overusing my muscles. It should have dawned on me that it isn’t wise to dismiss all symptoms as due to having post-polio syndrome. Last spring, during a routine visit to my physician, a simple blood test revealed an …
What about Flaxseed?
Jann Hartman, Baltimore, Maryland Fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon contain two omega-3 fatty acids – eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA and DHA). A third kind, alpha-linolenic acid, is less potent. It comes from soybeans, canola, walnut and flaxseed, and oils made from those beans, nuts and seeds. Flaxseed oil and flaxseeds (which need …
The Glycemic Index: Good Carbs, Bad Carbs
Jann Hartman, Baltimore, Maryland One of the most frequent dietary suggestions I have received is to eat “low glycemic foods.” The Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical ranking of foods showing how quickly they are broken down into sugars after a meal as compared to a standard (usually glucose). While the index can be a useful tool (similar to calorie …
Why the weight? Losing a few pounds is possible … right now. Why wait?
Sunny Roller, Ann Arbor, Michigan Even if one uses a wheelchair full time and has a metabolism that is a bit slower due to aging, losing weight is possible. I had almost given up, but then 14 months ago, my doctor fiercely demanded that I lose 10 pounds. If I did not, she threatened to infuse me with some creepy …