At Post-Polio Health International, we are always on the lookout for high-quality resources that support our members in living informed, independent and empowered lives. One such resource is the National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC), operated by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The NPRC is designed to provide practical, day-to-day support for individuals living with paralysis—no matter the cause—and their …
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:
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 …
Self-Assessment
Post-polio advocates noticed that polio survivors experienced very frustrating visits to physicians when reporting new post-polio problems. Barriers included the limited amount of time a physician had for an appointment and the lack of experience of physicians in the early days. They weren’t as skilled at asking the right questions. Additionally, polio survivors knew they didn’t feel well, but hadn’t …
Independent Living
The independent living movement grew out of the anger and frustration of people with disabilities who were excluded from places of education, work, general retail, worship, and recreation due to barriers in architecture, transportation, and communications. Attitudes about people with disabilities ranged from low or no expectation to the promotion of the superhero, perpetuating the idea that people with disabilities, …
Making the Most of Time
William Stothers It all depends on your disability, of course, but most of us probably pay out more money, and most likely more time and energy, to manage our daily routines than non-disabled people. For example, even with health insurance, I shell out a steady flow of funds for wheelchair repairs, other orthopedic equipment and ventilator supplies. All those costs are …
Please Be Seated!
Prolonged standing is stressful; some people find it harder to stand in one place than to walk. We need to conserve energy while doing everyday tasks so we have vitality left for the fun stuff. So…..sit down! Sitting while performing activities takes 25% less energy – how easy is that? And the benefits don’t stop there; sitting places less demand …
Whose Life Is It, Anyway?
Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. My friend Mary called with what she termed a dilemma: She has a friend whose mother won’t take a bath. “It’s been three months,” she said. “The woman refuses to bathe. Her daughter promises …
Movin’ On
Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. We’re talking civil rights here. Big Time. “Our crowning achievement of the 20th Century,” as Justin Dart, Jr. called it—the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act—the ADA. On July 26 we celebrated its …
Racking Up Success
Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. A few years ago Hubby’s dentist gave him a scruffily pathetic Christmas cactus that wasn’t doing well under her tutelage. He brought it home, put in on his desk under the desk lamp, in …
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2