SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Many Years Later, a Scourge Returns
from the San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required)
In 1950, when he was 3½ years old, Rick Kneeshaw contracted polio. Within days, the healthy toddler was crippled, paralysis quickly numbing and immobilizing his left leg, hip and parts of his back. Over the next 12 years, Kneeshaw would endure many operations, each attempting to restore at least partial muscle and nerve function. Between surgeries, Kneeshaw would spend hours in physical therapy, going and growing through countless braces, crutches and other supports.
"By the time I was 16, I figure I'd spent a quarter of my life in hospitals," he said. The payoff was partial recovery. He was able to walk without braces or crutches--at least on level surfaces for short distances. "It gave me nighttime mobility at least. I could get out of bed, go to the bathroom. That was something."
But something changed in 1971. ... Kneeshaw knew he had never actually conquered polio, but he thought he had put it behind him. He had moved on, becoming an electrical engineer, marrying, having children. Polio caught up.
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