PHI Spark (No. 1)

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Warm Greetings from PHI to You!

This is the first in a 12-month series of SPARK messages to you from all of us at PHI. We want these upcoming monthly messages to be a sincere sign of our respect and gratitude for all of the energy and effort you have voluntarily donated to help polio survivors stay strong for so many years. We hope you might be able to adapt some of the SPARK ideas each month to the needs of your group.

Here’s the first new meeting idea for you and your group to consider. You will see that a list of very well-known national experts has come together to offer your group this rare, one-time opportunity…

Specialists Speak!

Want a National Post-Polio Professional to ZOOM into Your Next Meeting? Consider PHI’s 12-Month Specialists Speak Program

Believe it or not, we can genuinely thank the COVID quarantine for this--PHI’s brand-new offering for post-polio support groups. We are thinking in new ways.

Because so many of us have been forced to shelter in place, we have found new computer-generated ways to connect with one another—like using Zoom.  Having virtual meetings, whether casual or formal, has become more conventional. They are convenient, cost-effective, and sanitary.  All you need is access to a computer that is hooked up to the internet.

Following suit, and knowing that we still have much to learn about our health and wellness,  PHI has set up a Speakers Bureau of National Post-Polio Specialists for your group to access via Zoom or any other video chat application.

Here is how it works:

  1. You check out the list of speakers below who are willing to donate their time and expertise on a given post-polio topic to help keep your members and PHI healthy and prosperous. Presentations would be 20-plus minutes long. The definite presentation length and ensuing group discussion format would be arranged with the speaker in advance.

  2. Then you select a speaker and topic of keen interest to your group.

  3. Choose three meeting dates and times that your group would like as optional times for the speaker to present.

  4. Send your request with options to the PHI office at info@post-polio.org asking if the office would set up a speaking engagement with the speaker/topic you request.

  5. PHI would make the arrangements.

  6. On behalf of your support group you would make arrangements for a charitable donation to PHI for this program. The donation would be sent to the PHI office within one week of the presentation. (Suggested amount: $5.00 per member or any reasonable amount based on the group’s financial state of affairs.)

  7. Once the event is planned, PHI will help or coach the speaker and support group about how to connect on the day of the ZOOM meeting.
PHI Speakers Bureau of National Post-Polio Specialists with Selected Topics


*Saul J. Morse -
Legal Counsel, Brown Hay & Stephens, LLP, Springfield, Illinois

  • Powers of attorney for health care
  • Wills and trusts

*Marny K. Eulberg, MD - Mountain & Plains Post-Polio Clinic, Wheat Ridge, Colorado

  • Post-polio bracing
  • Changing symptoms


Carol Vandenakker Albanese, MD -
UC Davis Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sacramento, California

  • Post-polio syndrome: diagnosis and treatment
  • Exercise with PPS
  • Pain associated with PPS
  • Spinal problems in the polio survivor
  • Aging with PPS
  • Posture and musculoskeletal health
  • Too hot and too cold
  • Finding medical care for PPS
  • Post-Polio Syndrome vs. Late Effects of Polio


William M. DeMayo, MD -
Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

  • Sleep
  • Bracing
  • Stress management
  • Role of simple exercise/stretching in preventing complications of a sedentary lifestyle


Frederick M. Maynard, MD -
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Retired), Marquette, Michigan

  • Ask the Doctor session: medical issues and answers related to growing older with polio (an informal interactive exchange with Dr. Maynard to answer support group members’ questions about medical concerns they are currently encountering)


William P. Waring, MD -
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Notes of a post-polio watcher
  • The history of polio in America
  • Where does it hurt? Pain and post-polio
  • Falling
  • Pulmonary problems and post-polio
  • Questions to plan for effective orthopedic surgery
  • Polio and Covid-19: lessons learned and, hopefully, not forgotten


Martin Wice, MD -
Center for Advanced Medicine Neuroscience Center, St. Louis, Missouri

  • Getting the most from your doctor's visit
  • Why am I so tired?
  • Mindfulness and Meditation

*Indicates polio survivor


This could be an exciting and convenient new way for support group members to connect with the experts.

Having a ZOOM meeting like this is also an unprecedented opportunity to learn, thanks to the gracious generosity of these post-polio professionals who are willing to donate their time and knowledge to simultaneously support your members and PHI!

Remember—this is a time-limited opportunity, slated to end 12 months from now.

You are cordially invited to arrange a meeting for your support group with one of our guest speakers as soon as you wish. Just send us an email at info@post-polio.org.