by  Madeline Coelho ~ contracted polio at age 2

I contracted polio in 1954 at the age of 2½, before the Salk vaccine was invented. In 1954 I was living at Chullora, the migrant camp, when I was struck by a log at the bottom of a pile of logs. It cut open my ankle. I was taken to hospital for stitches. It was at the hospital that I contracted the polio virus. Hospitals can be dangerous places and are not always germ-free. For six weeks while the virus incubated, I was very ill and could not stand on my right leg. Mum took me to numerous doctors. They said I was ‘bluffing’. It was only after the six weeks was over that Mum was told I had polio. By that time it was too late to do anything. They told me I was lucky to have a ‘clear’ chest – I didn’t need to go in an iron lung.

My right leg was the most affected. I had a drop foot (where I had had the stitches) my right leg was 1½ inches shorter than the left leg and there was wastage in the muscles of my right leg. They put a calliper on my right leg and for a time I was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital for physiotherapy. A sponge was put under my right knee and wrapped in a rubber band. I think this was the treatment Sister Kenny had initiated. After a while they stopped the physiotherapy. They told Mum they could do no more for me. They took away the calliper and I had to walk without help. I remember suffering with shoes that did not fit my right ‘drop’ foot. I always had blisters. I could not do sports. It wasn’t until I reached the age of 8 that I was able to hop on my right leg. It was quite a triumph, like Alan Marshall in “I can jump Puddles”.

When I went to school I excelled academically. Sports was another matter.

My life has certainly been a challenge living with the after effects of polio and now, in my early sixties, with Post-Polio Syndrome. I have always been a Type A personality, always achieving, overexerting myself. Academically I was an overachiever and I was not always interested in my personal or social life. I did not get married young, indeed not until the age of 39. I missed out on having children.

My husband passed away over 11 years ago from leukaemia at the age of 43. I was now alone. I have been battling with my various disabilities (bipolar disorder, Type 2 Diabetes) ever since. I have learnt not to push myself these days. I need a ‘nanna’ nap in the afternoon. Sometimes I find it is better to isolate, as being around other people can be stressful. I have had special orthopaedic shoes from my twenties. Unfortunately they are very expensive. Meanwhile I have to live with the after effects of this terrible disease as do many others.

by  Madeline Coelho ~ contracted polio at age 2