This close to the end........

I hope you had a tremendous week!  The Georgia District Governors have been busy with some special information requests from Rotary International this week. One of those requests was about Polio Survivors.  I had the privilege to talk to one of our own this week about her Polio story.  I didn't realize our district had so many Polio survivors.  When I sent out the email I thought we may have a few names that I would be able to submit to Rotary International, but there were so many more.  I had the honor of speaking to one of those this week.  As a members in our clubs it it is important that we continue to fight against this horrible crippling disease!  It is only a plane ride away and it only take ONE case to impact so many others.  Please take a moment to read Virginia's story.
 

My polio survivor/polio victim, as the public calls us, story begins in Rome, GA in 1945.  I became ill as a 2 year old, so my parents got medical help for me. The doctors determined that I had polio from my neck down. I was taken to Grady Hospital, Atlanta, GA, where I was quarantined in a room by myself and in a bed with high sides. I missed my parents and sisters. The door of the room had a small window in it so that the nurses could see me, and I could see them check on me. My beautiful, loving, kind, educated mother and my handsome, educated, hard working, Lt. Commander in the Navy during World War II, loving father and twin sisters, a year younger than I, were all quarantined in Rome, GA. The Floyd County Health Department man came every day to verify that none of the family left the home for the two-week, quarantine period. My aunt would come to the screen door of our home, bring food, and sit on the porch to talk with the family.

After Grady Hospital, I went home with a brace on my right leg, from hip to ankle, in a high-top, brace shoe, and at night, I had a different leg brace with a high-top, tennis brace shoe. Around my waist, the doctors prescribed a long elastic brace. My next years were spent wearing the braces. Emory University Hospital was my next experience. A team of male doctors watched as I walked across the room without the braces to observe my condition. I went to Emory periodically for observation until 1953. At this time, I was sent to the sanitarium at Warm Springs Foundation, Warm Springs, GA for operations on my right leg, the main effect of this disease on me. The Foundation was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help children/people with polio. Again, I was taken away from my loving family and friends to go to a Girls' Ward at Warm Springs with 12 girls severely crippled by this childhood disease. The girl next to me had braces from her neck down her body. I had a normal, loving, settled home life in Rome, GA. My father, especially, did not recognize my illness, as he did not want his oldest child to be weak of character. Warm Springs taught me so much about life, mainly the value of health.

This time in my life is unforgettable and riveting, as I look back on this time. I learned to invent happiness. Since I was somewhat mobile with a cast on my right leg, I told the nurses that I could help put the thermometers in the girls' mouths and put them on their bedpans. Thus, I became known as "Little Sunshine". I feel that you can choose to be miserable or you can choose to be happy, daily as you live in the unknown. After the first operation,I was allowed to go home for a short time to be with family and friends. When I returned to Warm Springs for my second operation at 10 years old, many changes shaped my next experience. The nurses placed me in what I felt was a big baby bed with high sides. Learning to adjust to the unknown again as a child has strengthened my character as an adult. This trip at Warm Springs, I learned to walk again. My ankle and leg were straightened, and I could wear normal shoes. The iron lungs, old fashioned wheelchairs, crutches, whole-body casts, etc. shall forever be embedded in my heart and mind as I count my many blessings to be a Polio Survivor in the great United States of America, where medical help is prized.

It was terrifying experience that has helped me understand many challenges that people have daily. Good daily habits have helped me be a strong Rotarian, today. Thank you Rotary for all that you do to eradicate POLIO worldwide. You change many lives as you help a polio survivor. Please do not quit this incredible program.

Thank you Virginia!  As a Rotarian I'm so extremely proud of the legacy Rotary will leave in our fight against Polio. We will rid the world of this crippling disease because we do not want to see anyone go through what so many in our district and around the world have experienced with Polio.  The Gates Foundation is still matching every dollar that is contributed with two dollars!  What a great way to honor those in our district by contributing something toward Polio Plus.  It is not too late to register for Atlanta either!  Bill Gates will be addressing Rotarians in Atlanta!  

What is your legacy?  Are you part of the fight against Polio?  We can't forget those that are survivors!  We can't forget those lives that have been changed because they were vaccinated against Polio because we are THIS CLOSE to the end!  For more information on Rotary and Polio visit the web page.  www.endpolio.org  Please take a few minutes to hear from President John Germ and what Polio means to him. This was from my time in San Diego last January with 528 of my classmates from around the world.   http://video.rotary.org/RGk8n/closing-remarks-john-germ/   What is your Legacy as a Rotarian?

Thank you for all that you do! 
Pam
2016-17 District Governor