19 fascinating pictures to remind us what polio used to look

Interesting photo series. When I was a kid, polio was scary as hell. Now, it's gone, for practical purposes. Things have changed a great deal over the years and sometime we need to be reminded of it.

-- Wes

My memories of the polio virus are from the tail end of the polio scare. I was born in 1954 after the big epidemic years, but had parents who lived thru those scares with my 3 sisters (born '44, '47 & '48). 

When the vaccinations "came to town" we lived in Summit, Illinois (Chicago collar suburb) which were administered at a local public school. I remember the concern my father had with the sugar cubes the vaccine dose was squirted in and how it might affect his type 2 diabetes. My sisters were a bit worried about entering a public school as the Catholic school nuns were had in our Catholic elementary school instilled a bit of fear into their students. Me, as a 3 or 4 year old kid, thought the vaccine was the bee's knees, I got to gobble sugar cubes!

Born 1940 - I lost a cousin to polio and a great friend wore a leg iron. One not to tackle playing football. Iron Lungs were the treatment of the time so it brought back many memories.

Now in Rotary and we together with the WHO are willing the battle against Polio worldwide, just a few cases left in Pakistan area.

We are planting 50,000 purple crocus in our local villages as part of the End Polio campaign - fingers are marked with purple to show they have been given the vaccine.

Pleased to say that the Gates Foundation match the monies raised by Rotary International - millions each year.