{"id":283,"date":"2016-05-16T13:02:01","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T17:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/?page_id=283"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:57:57","slug":"polio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/polio\/","title":{"rendered":"Polio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/poio-dragon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"338\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/poio-dragon.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/poio-dragon.jpg 338w, https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/poio-dragon-282x300.jpg 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-blogger-escaped-style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<ul>\n<li>I succumbed to Polio in 1949 at age 7. My neck, left arm and left leg were paralyzed. I am told that a \u201cIron Lung\u201d was standing by but was not needed. After a month alone ( you could not see the others) in the basement of Vancouver General Hospital I was moved to Vancouver\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital for an additional 3 months. My memories of both are few. Kenny Hot Packs and Spinal Taps in VGH. I don\u2019t ever remember eating. Probably a good thing. The memories of Children\u2019s are those of recovery and of a happier time. I recall one nurse in particular whom we all loved. her name was <a href=\"https:\/\/montecristomagazine.com\/community\/1940s-vancouver-nurse-wrote-smash-radio-hit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elizabeth Clarke<\/a>. She wrote the song \u201cThere\u2019s a bluebird on your window sill\u201d.&nbsp; She was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame\u201d in 2010. She also sent Christmas cards to (I assume) all her ex patients. I received one every year. My mother ensured I replied. Elizabeth Clarke died in 1960. After returning to my Home town I continued in Physio for six months or more. The only memory of that it the use of <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Electrotherapy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Electrotherapy\">Electrotherapy<\/a> in the treatment. Gawd I hated it. To this day electrical shocks are dreaded. I regained full use of my body and the slight limp from lack of growth on the left side was easily covered. Near the end of the 20th century a TV piece alerted me to the \u201cLate effects of polio\u201d What a shock! Google put me in touch with the Post-polio clinic at UBC. A full day was spent on an assessment. My hidden limp was revealed as well as diminished lung capacities. The <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aapmr.org\/about-physiatry\/about-physical-medicine-rehabilitation\/what-is-physiatry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.aapmr.org\/about-physiatry\/about-physical-medicine-rehabilitation\/what-is-physiatry\">Physiatrist<\/a> estimated that 30% of my motor neurons were lost. 50% loss results in a diagnosis of <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/post-polio-syndrome\/basics\/definition\/con-20021725\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/post-polio-syndrome\/basics\/definition\/con-20021725\">PPS<\/a>. By 2003 further muscle loss stopped me from <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/about-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-href=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/about-2\/\">going to sea<\/a>. Leg weakness affected my balance with sea sickness the result. This had never occurred in a career sailing the ocean, spanning near 40 years. Now in 2017 both the pain and fatigue have increased but I <em class=\"markup--em markup--blockquote-em\">am <\/em>still walking and talking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2018 update<\/p>\n<p>My polio legs have plateaued yet again. Weakness leading to more loss of stability with associated pain. Fear of a fall and the dire consequences of that made this a no-brainer.<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Drive-Nitro-Black-800x800.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-509 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Drive-Nitro-Black-800x800-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Drive-Nitro-Black-800x800-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Drive-Nitro-Black-800x800-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Drive-Nitro-Black-800x800-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/saltair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Drive-Nitro-Black-800x800.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><p><\/p>\n<p>update 2024<\/p>\n<p>Last year I ended up in Hospital with Pneumonia which resulted in 3 heart attacks requiring defibrillation and a 5 month recovery. Post polio reared its ugly head again with the muscle in my throat controlling whether food, liquid or air is entering. quit. Through elimination Post Polio was diagnosed.&nbsp; I now take food through a tube from my chest to my belly. My legs and stamina have markedly decreased as well.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-blogger-escaped-style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I succumbed to Polio in 1949 at age 7. My neck, left arm and left leg were paralyzed. I am told that a \u201cIron Lung\u201d was standing by but was not needed. After a month alone ( you could not see the others) in the basement of Vancouver General Hospital I was moved to Vancouver\u2019s &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/polio\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Polio<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-283","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1285,"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/283\/revisions\/1285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltair.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}