REMEMBER ME

for Remember Me this is polio this is the mark of polio on the human hand the human hand that remarkable mechanism which helps set us above the animal with without power in our hands we are almost helpless this is polio and it is something for you to remember polio is not over polio is not over for this patient polio is not over for thousands polio is not over for you this is a full grown man after polio these are his legs his knees his hips his hands he can move his fingers a little he can move his head and that's all the rest of him is a powerless shell remember these pictures for in spite of the sock vaccine polio is not over in the summer of 1955 polio again struck hard Across the Nation deserted beaches became a sign of the crippler presence no swimmers or boter where crowds would normally be in summertime a children's playground with not a child in sight with special Fury polio struck at Massachusetts and Wisconsin and in their fear of it people stayed at home children were not allowed to leave their own yards in Wisconsin theaters closed in Massachusetts people even feared to go to shopping centers leaving a few lonely cars where normally there would be hundreds it was as though people had shut themselves up in their houses trying to hide from an unseen and deadly enemy not daring even to venture upon the streets but hiding did no good polio was not over in 1955 as epidemics grew in community after community a steady stream of victims was rushed to hospitals men women children as always especially children this is Boston where the epidemic started early in the summer and continued into the fall where at times polio claimed as many as 50 new victims a day some have recovered some will recover and some may carry the mark and burden of polio paralysis for Life Remember Me this is Wisconsin where polio started in Appleton and spread like a prairie fire up and down the Fox River Valley filling hospitals with its little victims where polio put this little boy in a crib right next to his baby brother remember me yes remember them for polio is not over for thousands of polio victims the new cases of 1955 and cases from previous years polio is still a terrible reality it has been said that some diseases do not take life they just ruin it for this man the road back is long and tremendously expensive his hope for the best possible recovery depends on your help remember him this too is polio the Monstrous full body cast worn by polio victims before and after Orthopedic operations on the spine and the crutches and braces still desperately needed to put polio patients large and small back on their feet this turnbuckle can be tightened to change this patient's already contorted position she is immobilized barely able to move her head and arms following an orthopedic operation designed to correct deformities and put the patient back on his feet a patient may be imprisoned in his grot test cast for as long as 9 months yes this too is polio remember these polio patients nothing in the course of polio 1955 epidemic blows was more awesome than Hospital Wards jammed with patients and iron lungs these were the most seriously stricken the most desperately sick the victims closest to death they were also the most expensive in terms of money needed for their care elaborate equipment nursing care around the cluck because polio was not over because these victims could not be forgotten March of Dimes money helped and is still helping and must go on helping for respirator cases alone it is costing millions of dollars a single iron lung costs $2,000 and March of Dimes funds provided more than 700 iron lungs this year to help keep little girls like this alive just as polio shows no favorites March of Dimes money helps all polio patients who need help all patients regardless of age race Creed or color this is polio 1955 and a very sick little child and this is polio 1955 with a more hopeful side this little girl has recovered sufficiently so that although she must sleep in her iron lung at night she can stay outside and breathe on her own in the daytime but as polio struck across the country in 1955 and dealt Savage epidemic blows in Massachusetts and Wisconsin the big and tragic news was polio is not over for thousands of children and adults too the sock vaccine had not been developed in time and so little boys like this in the acute stages of polio grimaced in pain as their arms were moved by nurses applying hot packs hot packs to relieve muscle spasm and lay still and awaited the verdict would they recover or would polio never be over for them there are so many to be remembered in the Grim polio fight ahead here are some of them not all of them look sick but they all bear the mark of polio look look and remember remember me remember me Remember Me this is polio remember me yes remember them remember them all they can and are being helped but for them polio may never be over and polio is not over for you it will not be over until the so polio vaccine is available to all then and then only can we begin to see Fair skies and an end to all scenes like this