J read my Friendship post and wanted to know what polio season was. Oh, the things we neglect to tell our children! It used to be dangerous to do certain things during certain time(s) of the year, because you were more likely to get polio. It was probably summer, because I remember pools being closed when there was an outbreak. And, of course, you didn't have surgery during polio season unless you had no choice. Probably Colleen got tonsillitis in the summer most of the time, which makes sense because when we had ours out, I missed school.
I remember watching Johnny Carson one night when J was a baby and his guest was Jonas Salk. Johnny told Salk how that morning at breakfast his son had asked who his guest was and then wanted to know who Jonas Salk was and then what polio was. Johnny and Salk and I all sat there and cried! And, I'm crying now. Because of what Salk did, there are children who don't know what polio is!
I decided to google polio season and this is what I found.
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3 comments:
well, since I guess I'm lucky that I too did not really know about polio, its effects on people, nor about Jonas Salk, I did a looky looky on the net. My favorite factoid so far:
'Unlike some scientists who sought wealth or fame accompanying their innovations, Salk stated "'Who owns my polio vaccine? The people! Could you patent the sun?". '
Yes, some people define hero by their existence, and Jonas Salk is one of them. Before the vaccine, we lived in fear of polio. We knew people who died of it or were in wheelchairs or iron lungs because of it. It was a horror.
For whatever reason, your old posts often come up as new on my feeds. I remember lining up to get those shots; it was quite the hoohaa.
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