I took Jonathon to have a Well-check today at his pediatrician's office. He had to have two shots. He didn't like either one of them and he got a really insulted look on his face and cried really hard when the nurse gave them to him. I felt bad for him but only for a moment. One of the shots he received was the polio vaccine. That has given me reason to pause and praise.
I have spent the rest of the day thinking about the blessings that vaccine have brought to so many throughout the world. Thank you Dr. Salk and Dr. Sabin. Thank you Heavenly Father for inspiring these wonderful men.
I'm in kind of a unique position because I have had an intimate view of some of the damage Polio did to a human being who lived through Polio during a time when there was no cure--no such vaccine. I was born to that person after the vaccine had been found, but the scare of Polio still existed and they still weren't sure what caused all the outbreaks. My parents were cautious about a lot of things, i.e. where we swam, (no lakes, ponds, streams) only chlorinated pools, because there was a belief that some outbreaks had come through unclean water. Other kids and their families could take that chance but we couldn't. As children, we didn't understand all the caution. As a mom, the fear is much more clear.
Having gone through Jonathon's breathing struggles with him I would do anything to make him well. I'm sure my Dad's parents felt the same way. Their son had been a happy, walking, nearly eighteen month old when he was struck down with Polio--one of the first cases in Indiana. Suddenly, he couldn't walk anymore and was very sick. They were told he would never walk again. You know the rest of the story. He did walk but with a limp, one leg smaller and shorter than the other and he has always had some pain. One leg completely recovered and one didn't. In other words, he had one strong leg and one weak one. That didn't stop him from lettering in baseball and basketball. He has lived a good life and is very accomplished. I'm so proud of him.
The Polio leg now has post-Polio and it has made these later years pretty rough for him to get around easily. I can't help wonder how diffferent his life would be if he had been given this vaccine at Jonathon's age. But then, I guess our lives are what they are supposed to be. I know my Dad's struggles and challenges have shaped his character and made him who he is. I guess I wouldn't change that.
I still can't help but marvel at this modern day miracle--a cure for Polio. A blessing so big -- and so long gone from our memory that I don't think we even understand it. Love you Dad. :)
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