Post-Polio: an Oral History of Polio
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 11:49PM ;)
KIRK JOHNSON, For Some Survivors, Polio Won’t Fade Out, February 3, 2010
After polio stunted his right leg as a child, Ronald S. Hanson’s left knee gave out from overuse. Post-polio syndrome has refocused survivors’ minds on the virus.
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My uncle John Paul Neuman was struck with polio in 1952. Despite this, he has been a great inspiration to me through out my childhood and adult life. A great deal of the passion that I have for art, graphic recording, and my positive outlook on life has been influenced by his unquenchable passion for woodworking and outrageously positive attitude.
Recently I had the opportunity to work with him in his shop. Amongst the 50 years worth of wood, tools, and completed projects he told me where his intense interest grew. When he was a child, he was stuck with polio and was left with stunted growth in one of his legs and weakness in his muscles that prevented him from playing with other children. He turned to the older men in his family who took him into their shop and taught him 3 generations of woodworking knowledge. He has never left that shop. It is what wakes him up in the morning and puts him to bed at night.
Like many of the other "polios" in this article, John has a blindingly bright outlook on life. He has never seen himself as a victim and despite the challenges his polio has given him, much like Virginia Lewis Hall and her water color painting, he has seen it as an opportunity that gave him a gift and passion that sets him a part.
Polio gave him his passion. His passion keeps living with a bright smile.
-Heather
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