"Will the baby be alright?" This was the first question my parents
asked the doctors when, three months pregnant with me, my mother
contracted polio. That was 1955 and almost no one knew of post
polio complications, much less polio in utero (a non-paralytic
strain of the virus which was possibly passed placentially). Now
Post-Polio Syndrome has become a recognized and acknowledged
condition and as the children of polio mothers are approaching their
50's, new attention is being paid to polio in utero.

My mother was initially paralyzed from the neck down, but regained
use of most every thing but her legs and some diaphragm muscles.
One of the many things I learned from this remarkable woman was her
love of life and family. When I was old enough to hear and
understand her tale, I will never forget her saying, "I didn't care
what shape my body was left in as long as I could live independently
of a respirator. I had a husband and three children who needed
me." And what a life she went on to lead. She was an inspiration
to all who met her. In her 50's she began to develop what we now
know were symptoms of PPS. She took them with the same matter-of-
factness that she did her paralysis. Unfortunately they progressed
unrecognized by her doctors until she died at age 64. There is much
more I could write about this amazing woman, but I have been asked
to write an article for this newsletter in order to tell my story.
Our hope is that it will help others with similar stories.

From childhood I have had joint and muscle problems and never seemed
to have the energy of my peers. I can remember, in the middle of
playing with friends, having to go home to lie down due to pains in
my legs. Mama said they were "growing pains." Sounded good to me.
From my teens on I had arthritic type pain in my hips and legs, and
the older I got the more it spread and the more severe it became.
Tests never revealed anything conclusive. After almost two decades
of doctors making me feel as if it were all in my head, I began to
believe them. However, after several days of being bed-ridden this
summer, it was if Mama tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Sweety,
think about your history." I immediately began to research PPS and
was amazed at what I learned. Researchers around the world seem to
agree it is entirely possible that polio mothers could have pass a
non-paralytic strain of the virus and therefore the offspring may
develop PPS like symptoms without having had actual paralysis. This
has been an incredible journey of knowledge and empowerment and I
have been most anxious to share it with others with similar
stories. Even though no one knows what the future will bring to the
children of polio mothers, simply having some explanation to life
long ailments does much to raise spirits and hopes.