In the Fall 2009 issue of Post-Polio Health (Volume 25, Number 4), PHI introduced a column with a title based on the initials PPS. The purpose of the column was to acknowledge and address the fact that we as polio survivors are not only physical beings with physical concerns, but that we are psychological, social and spiritual beings. The column’s …
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:
Choosing Your Battles Wisely
Question: Every day I find there is something that annoys me—a truck parked in front of a ramp, someone without a handicapped sticker parked in the handicapped spot, a store counter that is too high, someone remarking on how well I drive my scooter. How do I decide which to respond to, and how to respond? Response from Rhoda Olkin, …
Coping with Vulnerability
Question: I was recently asked why I never attended post-polio meetings unless I speak and why I didn’t ask questions of the internet groups of polio survivors. I immediately knew the answer—those situations make me feel vulnerable, so I avoid them. Is this a healthy way of coping? Response from Stephanie T. Machell, PsyD: There’s no one healthy way of …
Dealing with Stress
Question: I am in my 80s and have become less and less involved in “changing the world.” I have come to terms with that decision and just want to relax and enjoy life. But at the same time it seems like everything is so difficult anymore. Errors abound at the pharmacy, at the doctor’s office, the plumber seems not to …
Changes in Personality and Cognition
Question: I just reviewed your online booklet Post-Polio Health Care Considerations but didn’t see a section on personality and cognitive changes. I am a mental health therapist and friend to two women who have post-polio. I am seeing changes in both their personalities and cognition. Do you have further information on these changes? Response from Rhoda Olkin, PhD: The very …
Family Members as Advocates
Question: My sister who had polio in 1953 at age 17 was affected from the waist down. She also struggles with bipolar disorder. Last winter she was hospitalized on a behavioral health floor for 44 days. Her crutches were taken away because they were considered weapons. She spent the days in a wheelchair and did not receive any physical therapy. …
“Fixing” Post-Polio, New Medications and Assistive Devices
Question: Sorry, NO more Memberships. For years, I have been getting the newsletter and it seems that the same old post-polio stuff keeps coming around. I have been hoping in vain to obtain definitive solutions to either FIX post-polio (I am 80 years old.) or reduce the rate of on-going loss of muscles. Or, I’d like to learn of new …
Feeling Isolated and Misunderstood
Question: As I get older with polio, my friends and family get older and have new ailments. They see me as just another person with a cane, but I think of it differently. I feel isolated and misunderstood. What are your thoughts? Response from Rhoda Olkin, PhD: I hear you! It can be frustrating when our contemporaries see us as …
Future Life with a Polio Survivor
Question: I am dating a woman who had polio, but if you didn’t know it, you could not tell it. We are both in our late 20s and I am very interested in her. I have heard about post-polio syndrome and am wondering what I may expect in our future years if I marry her. Dr. Maynard’s response: People with …
Coping with Anxiety from Childhood Trauma
Question: Sixty years later I still live daily with anxiety stemming from hospital treatment, not abusive but certainly traumatic for a child. Do you have suggestions on how I can reduce the stress of this anxiety? Response from Stephanie T. Machell, PsyD: So many of my clients struggle with this! The hospital experience was indeed traumatic. You had a serious …