The Polio Early Days part 2

A few memories from Children's Hospital.
One of the therapies they administered to help loosen my muscles was placing hot wet wool cloths on my limbs. I remember the nurses taking these out of the container with tongs and then placing them on my body. I also remember screaming. To this day I can't stand the smell of wet wool. It took me awhile to figure out why and one day the association hit me. Growing up in San Diego my step dad was in the Navy he would always bring home these woolen blankets, we called them Navy blankets, maybe that's what was supplied on the ships I'm not sure. Just remembering those getting wet will cause me to gag.
This was part of the Sister Kenny treatment. This was a highly controversial treatment. Here's some excerpts from her book. And They Shall Walk
Sister Kenny Hot Packs for Polio Treatment
Countless polio survivors benefited from the Kenny treatment. Alan Alda(Polio, 1943) credits the Kenny treatment as well as his mother Joan for his total recovery. While Mia Farrow (Polio, 1954) defined her daily hot pack treatments in one word, "loathsome."
Elizabeth Kenny was a young Australian bush nurse when she saw her first patient who had the symptoms of a disease that was unknown to her. The advise from her mentor and friend, Dr. Aeneas McDonnell, via telegram was: Infantile paralysis. No known treatment. Do the best you can with the symptoms presenting themselves. She tried various ways to relieve the pain and relax the tightened muscles. Kenny says: "At last I tore a blanket made from soft Australian wool into suitable strips and wrung them out of boiling water. These I wrapped gently about the poor, tortured muscles. The whimpering of the child ceased almost immediately, and after a few more applications her eyes closed slowly and she fell asleep." Later, when the little 2 year old girl awoke, she called out for more "rags." [And They Shall Walk, p. 24] I don't know about that little girl. I don't remember falling asleep and I'm quite sure I didn't cry out for more.
Another book about her and her treatments called A Paralyzing Fear by Nina Seavey says
We owe much gratitude to Elizabeth Kenny for her ability and willingness to re-evaluate the old methods of polio treatment. The use of splints and casts to immobilize polio paralyzed limbs gave way to physical therapy and water therapies, as well as the Kenny method of polio treatment which she shared with us all. Well I had a mixture of both. I had water therapy and physical therapy. But, I also wore several braces.
If you're interested there is an old movie about her life I just happened to see that it was on TV one night. I think it was on TCM. It's called Sister Kenny.
I guess I should tell you I don't know how long I was actually paralyzed. One thing I remember during that time was crying. I could feel the tears on my face but I couldn't move my arms to wipe my eyes. Isn't it strange what a 4 yr old remembers.
Another treatment I remember wasn't painful just uncomfortable. By this time I was able to move. My legs have always been the strongest part of my body. But, I had weak heel cords. Which means I couldn't put my foot flat on the floor. If it wasn't fixed I would be walking around on tip toes. So what they did at night was scoot me to the foot board of the bed and tie my feet flat against a board. So my toes were straight up. Well this meant I had to sleep on my back all night. Well one night I was bound and determined to sleep on my stomach. So I wiggled and wiggled I don't know for how long but, I finally broke a safety pin that was holding the ties on one of my feet. I got that one off and was able to at least lay on my side. Probably the best night nights sleep I had in a long time. Well, I paid for it in the morning. The nurses were not happy with me.
That's enough for today.