Summary of the September 9, 2007 Program

"Let Your Food Be Your Medicine"

Joy Semelka, Nutritionist for the North Central Florida Post-Polio Support Group, was our speaker for the September 9th program. We always look forward to having her with us.

Joy Semelka has a Master’s Degree in Dietetics and has been a Registered Dietician with the American with the American Dietetic Association since 1987.  In 1990, she became the first Board Certified Diabetes Educator in Marion County while working at Marion Community Hospital (now Ocala Regional Medical Center).

Joy’s presentation, "Let Your Food Be Your Medicine", was taken from a quote by Hippocrates: "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food".  Just think how our health would change if we practiced this.  We concentrate on how food tastes, ease of preparation, and give little thought to what is good for us, and we certainly do not want to hear what’s bad for us. Joy began her program with the "10 Worst Food",  foods we should never eat.

1.      Artery Crust: Judging by the label, Pepperidge Farm Roasted White Meat Chicken Premium Pot Pie has 510 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat..... that is, if you eat only half the pie.  The whole pie has 1,000 calories, 18 grams of fat and 13 grams of hidden trans fat, totaling 31 grams of artery-clogging fat ..... that’s more than a day’s allotment.

2.      Strip Tease: McDonald’s Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips sounds healthy, but they are no healthier than the chains Chicken McNuggets.  A standard five-strip order has 630 calories and 11 grams of fat.  That’s about the same as a Big Mac, except the burger has 1,040 mgs. of sodium, while the select has 1,550 mgs.,even without the salty sauce.

3.      Factory Rejects: The Cheesecake Factory’s 6 Carb Cheesecake has 610 calories, same as you get from a slice of its Original Cheesecake.  Think of it as an 8 oz. prime rib for dessert with 29 grams of saturated fat, a 1 ½ day’s supply.   The next time you step on the bathroom scale, you may never know that the carbs were missing.

We will mention the remaining worst foods briefly: 4) Everlasting Dove: 300 calories, average of 11 grams of fat (½ a day’s worth). They are trying to link chocolate with love by calling it "Unconditional Chocolate," A scoop of its ice cream will fill your heart all right ....but not with love; 5) Starbucks 20 oz. Caffe Mocha with whipped cream: Think of it as a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in a cup. 6) Ruby Tuesday’s Fresh Chicken and Broccoli Pasta: To equal its 2,060 calories, you would have to swallow two sirloin steak dinners, each with Caeser salad and buttered baked potato. 7) Burger King Quad Stacker: 4 hamburger patties, 45 slices of cheese, 8 strips of bacon, sauce and a bun; ½ a day’s calories (1,000). 1 ½ day’s worth of fat (30 grams), 3 grams trans fat, and more than one day’s sodium (1,800 mg.). 8) Campbell’s Chunky Select and red and white label condensed soups: half a can averages more than half a daily quota of salt. 9) Chipotle Chicken Burrito: Think of its 1,180 calories as 3 six-inch Subway Steak and Cheese Subs.  Plus, it has 2, 900 mgs. of sodium. And, 10) Mint Chip Dazzler at Haagen-Daze Stores:

Think of it as a T-bone steak with Caesar salad, and baked potato with sour cream.  And that’s usually dessert after lunch or dinner.

Joy then talked about the "10 Best Foods", calling them super foods for better health:

1.       Sweet potatoes: A nutritional All-Star, one of the best vegetables you can eat.  Loaded with carotenoids, Vitamin C, potassium and fiber.  Add unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness.

2.      Grape tomatoes: Sweeter and firmer than other tomatoes and bite-sized shape makes them perfect for snacking.

3.      Fat-Free or 1% Milk: Excellent source of calcium, vitamins and protein with little or no artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.  Ditto for low-fat yogurt.  Soy milk can have just as many nutrients .... it the company adds them.

4.      Broccoli: Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid.  Steam it briefly and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a dash of soy sauce.

5.      Wild Salmon: The Omega-3 fats in fatty fish like wild salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks.  And salmon that is caught wild has fewer PCB contaminants than farm raised salmon.

6.      Crisp-breads: Whole grain rye crackers like Wasa, Ry Krisp and Ryvita are loaded with fiber an are often fat-free.

7.      Microwave-able or 10 Minute Brown Rice: Enriched white rice is nutritionally weak. You lose the fiber, magnesium, Vitamins E and B-6, copper, zinc and phytochemicals that are in whole grains.  Try quick-cooking or regular brown rice instead.

8.      Citrus Fruit: Great tasting and rich in Vitamin C, folic acid and fiber.  Perfect for a snack or dessert.  Try different varieties: Juicy Minneola oranges, snack-size Clementines or tart grapefruit.

9.      Diced Butternut Squash: A growing number of food stores sell peeled, seeded, cut and ready to go ....into the oven, into a stir-fry or into soup or risotto.  Every half cup has 5 grams of fiber and payloads of Vitamins A and C.

10.     Spinach or Kale: Loaded with Vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium and fiber.

After Joy’s presentation, she turned to the audience for their questions and comments.  Joy always welcomes calls from our group members.  She understands post-polio synfrome and has been our nutritionist since 1991.

Joy is cofounder of Dia-Trition, Inc., to meet the growing need for high quality education and nutrition programs in Marian County.  Dia-Trition, Inc. can provide education and self-management training to people with diabetes or anyone who wishes to improve their health through better nutrition.

Joy can work with you, whether a dietician is recommended by your physician for specific medical reasons, you are interested in weight management or in just obtaining more information about how you can "Let Your Food Be Your Medicine".  You may call Joy at (352) 291-5055.

Summary Submitted by Ann Austin

(May not be reprinted without permission)

Summary of the October 14 Program

The Polio Chronicle:
Living History Defined and Photographed
by Patrick Fleming, PHD Candidate, University of Central Florida

October 14, 2007

Patrick Fleming, a frequent presenter to our group, has been researching polio, along with sidebar treatments of disability in general, for four years.  After ten separate trips to Warm Springs, and overseas excursions to India, China, Armenia, Central Asia, and most recently Poland, Pat is compiling his writings, photographs and archival collection into a doctoral dissertation to be completed in the Spring of 2008.

Patrick Fleming addressed the October 14th meeting of the North Central Florida Post Polio Group with a presentation focusing on a comparative analysis of the "Whatever Happened to Polio" exhibition that recently opened (August 15, 2007) at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute of Rehabilitation.  Two years earlier this exhibition premiered at the Smithsonian Institution and quickly became the most visited area of the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Pat presented photographs of the grounds of Warm Springs, including Georgia Hall, with its black and white tile floor, and the Norman Wilson Memorial Pool, which was empty. However, there is a pool at the recreation center that can still be used for swimming and therapy. There were pictures of the "Little White House" where Franklin Delano Roosevelt stayed when he visited Warm Springs, as well as pictures of the one hundred and eleven canes that were part of the exhibition.

Pat told us many people who kept scrapbooks of their experiences at Warm Springs donated these scrapbooks to the exhibition.

We were told how the March of Dimes gave its first grant toward developing a separate facility for "people of color" at Tuskegee, Alabama. Previously, it was believed that black people could not contract infantile paralysis.  The buildings are no longer in existence, however, Pat was able to photograph a former board member of the Tuskegee facility, Edie Powell, who had polio as a child. Dr. George Washington Carver and Dr. Jake W. Chenault were two of the first certified black doctors to work at the facility during that era. Pat also took pictures of Mike Raab at the golf course who, at the age of 95, could still hit a birdie.

The North Central Florida Post Polio Group is co-sponsoring a conference of polio survivors at the Warm Springs facility in April of 2008. The presentation by Pat Fleming gave us a great deal to look forward to. We will have further information on the pending conference in future issues of the Polio Post.

Summarized by Sharon Daszczynski

The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that dozens of Nigerian children have been paralyzed by a poliovirus derived from the vaccine

Nigeria
Experts: Polio virus sparked by vaccine
BY MARIA CHENG
Associated Press

LONDON – For doctors struggling to eradicate polio, fighting the paralytic disease mean vaccinating children in war-torn regions, persuading governments to pay attention and begging donors for money.

A recent polio outbreak in Nigeria revealed another potential problem: the vaccine commonly used against it. Last week, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that since 2005, 69 Nigerian children have been paralyzed by a poliovirus derived from the oral vaccine. Two other cases made it to Niger.

Such cases are not unknown, but the continuing Nigerian outbreak is the biggest ever and follows a boycott of the vaccination in Africa’s most populous country because of unfounded fears the vaccine is a Western plot to sterilize Muslims.

Officials now worry that the latest Nigerian outbreak traced to the vaccine could trigger another vaccine scare.

"This is the oral polio vaccine paradox," said Owen Kew, a virologist at the CDC. "This vaccine is the most effective tool we have against the virus, but it’s like fighting fire with fire."

RARE CASES

What’s needed to stop Nigeria’s outbreak is more of the same vaccine that caused it.

The oral polio vaccine contains a weakened version of the polio virus. Children who have been vaccinated pass the virus into the water supply. Other children who then play in or drink that water pick up the vaccine’s virus, which gives them some protection against polio.

But in very rare instances, as the virus passes through unimmunized children, it can mutate into a form that is dangerous enough to spark new outbreaks.

That happened for the first time in 2001, when 22 children were paralyzed in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Subsequent vaccine-caused polio outbreaks have occurred in the Philippines, Madagascar, China and Indonesia.

Experts say these types of outbreaks happen when not enough children are vaccinated. In northern Nigeria, about 39 percent of children are fully protected against polio.

In the West, an injectable polio vaccine with inactivated virus is used to avoid the problems with the oral vaccine. But the oral vaccine used in the developing world is much cheaper than the injectable vaccine and can be given to children by volunteers with little training.

The latest outbreak linked to the vaccine comes "in the wake of all the other problems they’ve had in Nigeria," said Dr. Donald Henderson, who led WHO’s smallpox eradication campaign in the 1970s.

in 2003, politicians in northern Nigeria canceled vaccination campaigns for nearly a year, claiming the vaccine was a Western plot to sterilize Muslims. That led to an explosion of polio, and the virus jump to about two dozen countries worldwide.

Now, health officials’ decision to keep quiet about the outbreak linked to the vaccine for so long – WHO and CDC have known about the Nigerian outbreak since last year – may look suspicious.

Dr. David Heymann, WHO’s top polio official, said that because WHO considered the Nigerian outbreak to be an "operational" issue, it was unnecessary to share the information beyond its scientific committees.

CDC’s Kew added, "The people who are against immunization may seize on anything that could strengthen their position, even if it’s scientifically untenable."

Rumors are still rife among Nigerians that the vaccine is unsafe, and several religious leaders continue to lecture on its dangers. If there is another mass vaccine boycott that unleashes the virus further, that could derail the global eradication effort for good.

Nigerian health officials contacted by the AP declined to comment on the situation.

______________________________

A "Tail" of a Medication Mix-up
Joy Semelka, MS,RD,LD/N,CDE

In August I had to go see about bringing my mother home from the hospital. She lives in Illinois and I live in Florida. She had been taken to the hospital by ambulance after falling and not being able to get up. She was progressing quite nicely, so I went up to see if she could stay in her home by herself and to set up any services she might need. Upon discharge from the hospital, the nurse went over her medications on the list and there was one I did not recognize and another I knew she needed to take was missing. When I questioned the nurse, she just stated, "The orders were to continue home meds, so I am assuming these are what she was on when she was admitted."

So that night when I got out her papers to see what she needed to take and get her medications all set up again, we laid out her prescriptions and I took the ones out of a baggy, that the paramedics had taken to the ER. A family member had brought her prescriptions back home after the ER nurse had made a list of what the paramedics had brought in. We laid them out on the table and I started to check them off and my 94 year old mother said, "Why are Jack’s itch pills in with mine?" "Jack" is my mother’s dog! Sure enough, the label said "for veterinary use only", "canine Jack", and the veterinary symbol was on the top of the prescription bottle with a picture of a dog and cat on the lid. After several double takes, I realized the mystery prescription that was on my mother’s discharge instructions, that I had questioned the nurse about was the prescription for the dog. It was dexamethasone, a corticosteroid that can be prescribed for people or animals. Her discharge instructions said she had been given some that morning and it said to give the second dose that night. Thoroughly perplexed, I tried in vain to call my mother’s doctor, but got no answer since it was after hours. I called a Nurse Practitioner friend of mine and asked her advice about the drug and dose, because some medications in the class can not be stopped abruptly. She said it was a low dose and she should be fine if she did not get anymore and did not need to be tapered off.

The next morning, I finally got through to the office of my mother’s doctor. I asked the nurse what my mother should be on and why was she not prescribed her inhaler for her asthma. She had to call over to the hospital and get her medication sheet faxed to the office. When she called me back, she just repeated to read off of the discharge instruction list. When she came to the dexamethasone, I asked when did the doctor prescribe that? All I could hear was a flurry of papers rustling as she tried to find it in the doctor’s notes. I then stopped toying with her and informed her that it was the prescription for her dog’s allergy. On the other end, a gasp and "Oh my god". I then asked her could she please tell me if my mother still needed to be on her inhaler, since she had not been on it the entire time she was in the hospital.

A call back about an hour later and I was informed to continue the inhaler, but don’t give her any more of the dexamethasone. I told her I had no intention of giving her the dog’s medication and besides that the dog needed it and he did not have a prescription drug plan. I was informed that the doctor would give me a call and discuss this with me.

The next day, I had to go through it again with the home health nurse. She was quite appalled and called the powers that be at the hospital to find out how this could happen. After many calls and an internal investigation, it was decided that the paramedics scooped up all of the meds and put them in a baggy. Her inhaler was missed, because it is not kept on the table with the other prescriptions. They then turned that over to the RN in the emergency room who wrote them down, including the one prescribed by her vet for the dog. Her primary care physician, who happens to be the only Dr. she currently sees, signed off on the list the RN supplied for the chart as, "Continue Home Meds". That is how my mother got something she was not prescribed and did not get her Asthma inhaler while in the hospital. The hospital admitted they had a poor system, the ER supervisor was informed and the RN responsible for the mistake was counseled. Fortunately it happened to be a medication that did not harm her. One week later, I finally got a call from the doctor’s office from the nurse I had spoken to about the meds, I guess the doctor was too busy making sure his other patient’s were getting the correct medications. The nurse informed me that "the doctor had meant to prescribe the dexamethasone and she was to continue on it at home"! I told her that was well and good and if that were the case, then we needed a prescription sent to the pharmacy and it needed to be delivered with her other medications. As I write this in October, the prescription has yet to show up at the house.

After discussing this with a pharmacist, he said there should have been several red flags, although dexamethasone is similar to prednisone, it is more potent and he sees only a few prescriptions a year through his pharmacy and it usually for acute inflammation, not long term like someone with well controlled asthma.

We had my mother’s medication list posted on the refrigerator, but the paramedics said they did not need that, even when my cousin pointed it out to them. The health care "professionals" tried to blame my mother, because she kept the dog’s medication on the table with her meds. That is the way she remembers to give it to him, as she eats her breakfast and dinner, Jack gets his pill. After all, it was the 94 year old that quickly recognized "Jack’s itch pills".

At this point, it is considered "no harm done" and to some extent comedic. The outcome could have been much different, if the dosage had been larger, if it had been continued or if it had been a different medication that this had happened. The take home message; double check and question any medications given in the hospital; ask a family member or friend to check for you, ask if your Dr. just writes orders for "continue home meds", my understanding is that this is a policy that many hospitals and states are not allowing, just for this reason. You can bet that the next time my mother is hospitalized, that I will be more involved and ask for daily reports and find out what they are giving her and why.

So far my mother is doing OK and we have had to only stop her once for chasing cars.

(The names have been changed to protect the innocent and we are looking for a new doctor.)

Raking Leaves

There's a lot to love about fall: crisp air, apple cider, football games, and even those leaves piling up on your front lawn.

That's because raking leaves gives you a perfect opportunity to get outside, get some fresh air, and get in a workout — all at the same time, not to mention that your yard will look great when you're done.

Raking leaves is considered moderate physical activity, similar to a brisk walk, according to Barbara Ainsworth, an exercise epidemiologist at San Diego State University. It helps build upper-body strength, as well as core strength, or strength in your back and stomach.

As you're raking, your core (or trunk) is working to stabilize your body while your arms are moving, says Ainsworth. A 135-pound person could burn about 240 calories raking leaves for an hour.

So take an activity break at halftime and get in the fall spirit. Grab a rake, a bottle of water, and have at those leaves. To make it easier on your body, use some leaf-raking tips:

Wear layers. It might be cool when you first head out the door, but you'll work up a sweat after you've been raking a while. You can peel off a windbreaker or jacket so you don't get overheated if you're wearing a sweatshirt or sweater underneath.

Warm up. As with any physical activity, you should warm up your muscles before you start working them. Raking uses muscles in your arms, chest, shoulders, legs, and upper and lower back — almost all the muscles in your body, says James Weinstein, chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at Dartmouth Medical School. Try walking around the yard, doing some circular arm movements, bending forward and backward, and to each side. You can follow that with some gentle stretches.

Stand and move correctly. Pay attention to your raking posture. Weinstein recommends forming a wide base with your feet and holding the rake slightly toward the end of the handle with one hand and three-quarters of the way down the handle with the other. Be careful not to twist your spine. Instead, move your whole body (think of a rotating chair), not going farther than your feet will allow. Keep your back naturally aligned — try to stand as straight as you comfortably can.

Switch sides. People tend to rake on one side of their body, which increases the risk of injury since raking uses the same muscles to do the same movement over and over. To avoid overuse injury, try switching sides every few minutes. Try raking 10 minutes left-handed and another 10 minutes right-handed, suggests Boyd Buser, associate dean of clinical affairs at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. This will help balance out the stress and strain to the lower back that happens from pulling off to the side instead of directly in front of you. It also distributes the strain on your arms and shoulders evenly on both sides.

Take it easy. Take your time, especially if you don't normally do yard work or aren't very physically active. Don't try to rake the whole yard at once. Stop and take a break after 10 or 20 minutes. Have some water and do some stretching. The breaks give the muscles you've been using repeatedly a chance to relax.

Cool down. When you're done raking, do some more stretching to help relax tense muscles. If someone offers to give you a massage, say "yes." A warm bath works, too.

Now that the raking is over, you have to protect your body from another possible back-straining activity: bagging leaves. Bagging leaves can involve awkward bending and stooping, says Buser. If you have to stoop over, try to face forward rather than stooping and twisting to one side, which strains the back. Here are some leaf-bagging don'ts:

· Don't lift bags with your back. Bend your knees and lift with your leg muscles.

· Don't overfill bags so they become too heavy to lift. Try dragging the bags or using a wheelbarrow if you have to move them long distances.

· If you're using a tarp and dragging leaves to a curb, don't overload it. And don't twist your body when you're pulling the tarp. If possible, have someone grab an opposite end to help you move the leaves.

· Don't be a weekend athlete and try to bag all the leaves at once. Pace yourself and tackle leaves in several sections. Better yet, save the bagging for another day since you put your back at greater risk of injury by lifting right after raking.

Too many leaves to bag? As an alternative to bagging, consider composting your leaves or using them as mulch to cover your garden for the winter.

Although raking seems like a tame enough activity, there are some safety tips you should keep in mind when you're out in your yard:

Stay dry. Rake leaves when they're dry. Wet leaves are heavier, harder to rake, and more slippery. They also can breed mold and mildew, which can make raking unpleasant for allergy sufferers.

Watch your footing. Wear shoes with good traction and support to keep you from slipping and falling. Good foot support will also keep your back from tiring as easily.

Be aware of your surroundings. Be careful of holes in the ground or objects you can trip and fall on, such as rocks, branches, roots, buried garden tools, or misplaced hoses or lawn ornaments.

Heed nature. Look out for insects (especially the stinging kind) and snakes or other critters that might have made the leaves their home. Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands. If there is mold on leaves, trees, or elsewhere in the yard, consider wearing a mask if you have allergies.

Raking leaves is not only good exercise for you, it's good for your lawn; grass that's covered with leaves can't soak up sun, which it needs to grow. Raking also will make the outside of your house safer and prettier. So add raking to your physical activity list and welcome those falling leaves!
____________
from AARP.org
AARP Resources:

Your Aching Back
Activities like raking leaves and shoveling snow can throw your back out of whack if you're not careful.
Fitness Safety
Tips to help you "get moving" safely.

Additional Resources
Exercise Guide
The National Institute on Aging discusses how to stretch safely, explains how to do different stretches, and gives pictures.
Gardening Safely and Sensibly
Being a gardener doesn't mean you have to live with aches and pains. The National Gardening Association tells you how to avoid hurting yourself.

Books
Find these books online at Barnes & Noble.com.
Gardener's Fitness: Weeding Out the Aches and Pains
Barbara Pearlman, Taylor Trade Publishing, February 1999
Gardening for Dummies
Mike MacCaskey and Bill Marken, Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, January 1999.

L-Carnitine and Post-Polio Syndrome
Thomas Chr. Lehmann MD
Berne Switzerland

Carnitine - "from meat (lat: caro, carnis) - is known just a long time and was thought to be a vitamin (vitamin BT). But it can be produced in the body (men’s, animal’s) of methionin and lysine with the aid of vitamin B6, vitamin C, niacin, pantothen-acid and iron in the kidneys and liver and stored in tissues with a hight fat turnover e.g. muscles, liver.

L-carnitine is mainly found in meat and liver of sheep, lambs, rabbits, in milk (human and other) and in yeast.

There’s no L-carnitine-intoxication.  L-carnitine is excreted by the kidney. D-Carnitine inhibits the action of L-carnitine.  L-acetyl-carnitine improves the reinnervation.

L-carnitine improves the metabolism (B-oxydation of fatty acids, glycolysis) and the effect of enzymes (pyruvate-dehydrogenase, coenzyme A (CoA)a.o.) and improves the transport of fatty acids in the cellular mitochondria ("energy factories").  The metabolism of oxygen, fat and glucose - found in every activity of daily living, mainly of muscles - is improved and the use (abuse) of (muscle-)proteins for energy-production is inhibited.

When tissues become acid (lactate) or desaturated of oxygen (respiratory insufficiency, bad vascularisation) the concentration of L-carnitine is lower in the blood, tissues and cells. If the concentration of lactic and fatty acids is higher, the enzymatic effects are inhibited and  the membrane of the cells is destroyed; there is not enough energy and the cell dies.

We believe L-carnitine is good for post-polios because:
The paralyzed or weakened polio-survivor has atrophied or atrophying muscles as an effect or late effect after polio. There are less possibilities to store L-carnitine to be used. It is known respectively that (over-)use of the muscles - atrophied or overused in compensation (the "healthy" muscles) - brings a local fall in L-carnitine concentration and a deregulation, de-compensation of the mentioned metabolism of fatty acid, glucose, oxygen and energy, necessary for a good muscular function.

L-carnitine deficiency shows similar symptoms as the post-polio syndrome, but more. Until now there is no proven L-carnitine deficiency in post-polios.

The most L-carnitine studies were made with people with longtime "sportive" activities (endurance) and with patients with heart diseases. We think post-polios have longtime "sportive" activities, too, with their overuse activities every day and are also at risk for cardiovascular failure, being (dis-)stressed and having respiratory problems.

Sixth International Post-Polio and Independent Living Conference
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
June 16-19, 1994

L-Carnitine for improvement in post-polio syndrome
Experiences report

There was a feed-back-report of 27 persons 1991/93 after taking 1000(-3000) mg/d L-carnitine (CarniteneR sigmatau (Switzerland/Italy) or BiocarnR Medice (Germany).

a) of endurance in 72%
b) of fatigue in 30 %
c) of sleep on 29% (worsening because ne (hyper-)activities(!)in 12.5%)
d) of standing up in 48%
e) of strength in 68%
f) of pain in 58%

We Never Talked About What Happened
Margaret E. Backman, Ph.D.

Now that you are a adult and the symptoms of post-polio are causing you to reflect on your early years, you find yourself asking many questions about what happened.  You feel conflicted. "We never talk about what happened." Alice complained to me.  I  know it’s not healthy, you’re supposed to talk about things. Yet sometimes I want to know, and sometimes I’m not so sure.

Your Experiences

If you were a child when you first contracted polio, like so many survivors, you have
 memories.  They may be fragmented, and since you weren’t told much about what was happening to you, you have been left with the child’s interpretation of what was going on. Perhaps you overheard doctors talking.  You had your child fears of being abandoned by your parents, fears that they had died when your didn’t see them for a long time.  You many be left with the anger at their not being strong enough to save you and for having abandoned you to the doctors and nursing staff.  You missed them, their comfort and protection.  You may have even thought that your were being punished for being bad.

If you were an infant when you had polio, you have no clear conscious memories of the
events.  There may be feelings that you can’t seem to grasp, a low underlying anxiety, depression or fear.  But you really aren’t sure what happened to you.

If your parents are not longer alive, there may be no one to help you find answers. If they
are alive, they may not want to talk about the time, telling you they don’t remember, or that you shouldn’t torment yourself thinking about things that are in the past.  You become angry thinking they are holding out on you, that they know things that they don’t want to tell you.

The Past

First you must put yourself back in time.  Try to think about what it must have been like in the 1950's. It was not a time of talking about feelings, confronting physicians or demanding your rights in a hospital setting. Polio was being heralded in the press much the same way that AIDS has dominated the headlines today.  Fear pervaded the general population.

Parents Reactions and Experiences

What were your parents going through all this time?  What were they feeling?  What
were their experiences?  Following are some common ways people experienced polio in the family, which may help you to understand better your own family’s reactions.

Since many of the symptoms of polio (fever, aches, pains) resembled those of minor ailments, many parents initially treated these complaints as just that - nothing out of the ordinary. The child was just not feeling well.  Sometimes parents would even remember as incident that might have contributed to the symptoms.  Tommy was around Uncle Bob who has a cold; Sara played jump rope too much last week, that’s why she as pains in her legs; Mary’s just trying to get out of school or trying to get attention.

But when the condition persisted and got even worse, parents had to consider that something more serious may be going on.  In such situations people move in and out of accepting the possibility of something more serious.  It is hard to give up the security of feeling that everything is familiar and under your control.  How quickly someone might consider the culprit to be polio, depended upon many factors.  One was how much information they had about the disease.  Although there were many articles in the press about polio, people’s attention to and understanding of the details of the illness varied.  Like any disaster, it always happened to someone else.  Often denial came into play as parents had difficulty accepting the possibility of something as serious as polio and what it protends.

Eventually the parents would take the child to the doctor, who most likely would have the child hospitalized.  Parents were often kept in a state of ambiguity as physicians did not always communicate a firm diagnosis, particularly not at first.  Giving "bad news" is very hard for many physicians, and in those days physicians did not reveal everything to patients or their families. It was a paternalistic approach that was supposed to protect patients (and often their family members) by withholding information that might frighten or upset them.

Physicians might relay information bit by bit thinking that the parents would gradually come to accept the diagnosis of polio.  However, parents would take every qualification as a sign of hope that the diagnosis would turn out to be something other than polio.

Parents would vacillate between accepting that their child had polio to hoping that the doctors had made a mistake and would tell them so.  At some point however, the parents would finally accept the diagnosis, leaving them filled with feelings of helplessness and loss. They would move from fear to despair.  Since society expects fathers in particular to be strong and decisive, many naturally felt a sense of being out of control.  Sometimes parents would feel detached from what had happened, as though they were outside their bodies observing what was going on.  Everything they did felt very mechanical.  Later parents might feel guilty that they had not cared for their child properly or felt responsible for having caused the condition.

What Does This Mean Now?

Some polio survivors feel anger at their parents for not having identified their polio symptoms sooner.  "Perhaps I could have been treated more quickly and had a better recovery," a man tells me solemnly. However, as we see, the symptoms were not always that clear and many parents could not cross the line of realizing that their child’s condition was serious.  A parent’s not visiting the hospital or convalescent home could be related to many factors: a father’s feeling helpless and not being able to face the suffering child; a mother’s need to go to work and not being able to take time off.  There were few psychological services available for children and families in those days as compared to today, few services to help them reorganize their emotions and thoughts.

This does not mean that you should not have the conflicted feelings you may have about your parents. Children do feel abandoned when parents fail to be their protectors and supporters.  Those feelings are natural and understandable.  And in fact some parents may not have don’t the "right" things.

If parents do not want to talk to you now about what happened then, it may be that they have buried these painful memories and are afraid to bring them up now.  They do not know if they will be able to talk without falling apart emotionally.  Or perhaps they feel that you will blame them for not taking better care of you, feelings of guilt that they may have been harboring, rightly or wrongly all these years. Polio is an illness that affected the entire family: parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents.....It was not an easy time for anyone.

Editors Note:

Margaret Backman, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in New York City, who has been working with survivors of polio for several years, providing supportive psychotherapy, lecturing and writing articles on Post Polio Syndrome. Dr. Backman’s most recent book, "The Post-Polio Experience" provides psychological insights and coping strategies for polio survivors and their families.  I highly recommend for all of you to add this book to your personal library.

• Don’t act out of a sense of duty. Keep personal priorities in mind. Remember that the holiday season is about more than just giving gifts.
• Don’t feel obligated to spend more money on gifts than you can afford. After all, it’s the thought that truly counts.
• Don’t get down on yourself for not feeling festive. Look for activities you’re interested in and then do them, even if they aren’t part of the seasonal celebrations.
• Remember that most real people don’t live as well as we think. Don’t compare yourself or your family to the "perfect people" in commercials and television shows.
• Don’t forget to exercise. A little workout goes a long way toward reducing stress, increasing energy, warding off depression, and working off those holiday calories. Don’t put your exercising off until the New Year!!
• Begin shopping early. This lessens the financial strain by spreading the expense over a longer period of time and minimizes your exposure to the last minute shopping frenzy. Catalog shopping is also an attractive option.
• Avoid knocking yourself out to achieve a "perfect" holiday season. Setting your expectations too high can lead to exhaustion and disappointment.
• Pace yourself, get plenty of rest, and make time for YOU!
• Stay away from alcohol and drugs.
• Make lists and check off what you finish.
• Establish some new traditions that have meaning to you or save you time.
• If you don’t want to be alone, arrange outside activities with others or donate your time to a charitable cause.
• Above all, try to maintain perspective and keep your sense of humor!

Q: I’ve been hearing so much about MRSA. How can I protect my family from it?

A: Short for methicillin-resistant Stapyhlococcus aureus, MRSA was recently reported to be the most common skin infection seen in city emergency rooms. Like many other bacteria, staph bacteria normally live on your skin or in your nose, usually benignly.

The problem likely arises when this bacteria get below the skin’s surface – through an open cut or scrape, for example. You can also develop an MRSA infection through close skin contact with someone who has the bacteria or from items or surfaces contaminated with MRSA. What makes these super bugs different from other skin infections is that they are resistant to many antibiotics.

People with MRSA skin infections often think a spider has bitten them. That’s because the infection often starts out as a painful red swelling, soon becoming a pus-leaking boil or abscess. If you develop these symptoms, see your doctor immediately. Your best defense is to practice good hygiene: wash your hands frequently, keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages, and do not share personal items such as towels and razors.

Mchael W. Smith, MD, WebMD
CHIEF MEDICAL EDITOR
www.WebMD.com
Credit: WebMD the Magazine, May/June 2007