Interview with John Deluca, a survivor of polio
Q: How old were you when you found out that you had polio?
A: I was thirteen months old.
Q: What were the first occurring symptoms?
A: I was too young to remember, but I understand that I had gotten a fever, and experienced weakness in my left leg.
Q: When did you get Polio?
A: I had polio in 1936. It was 78 years ago.
Q: What measures, in your life, were taken to help cure the disease?
A: I was born in a small village in Italy. There was no real doctor in town and there were certainly no hospitals. The town doctor told my mother to boil water and to dip towels in it, then cover my left side with the hot towels. He also told her to massage my leg.
Q: Did anyone that you know get polio also?
A: A few other people in the village had gotten it also, but mainly, there was a neighbor around my age that I would always play with. He had gotten polio too, so he was kept inside, and eventually the doctor thought that he had been cured, we began to play together again. But, the polio was not all gone from his body, so because of the times that we would be around each other while he had polio, I got it also.
Q: Was polio all over the news?
A: Since I was too young to remember and I lived in a very remote village, it probably was just talk around the village. There were no newspapers or televisions. It probably was on the news in the city.
Q: How long did the polio seem to last?
A: It lasted for a few months.
Q: What were the short term side effects?
A: I had a fever and my left leg was very weak and I wasn't able to stand on it. I had a lot of trouble walking.
Q: What were some of the long term side effects?
A: My left leg didn't develop like my right leg. I still have a problem with it today.
Q: Did you hear much about Jonas Salk?
A: Yes. I know that he discovered the polio vaccine. I heard about him when I came to the country (America) in 1947.
Q: How many vaccines were made during the time that you had polio?
A: None.
Q: How had polio affected your life after you had been cured from it?
A: My left leg has always been weaker than my right leg. Because of it, I couldn't play sports and I was slower than all of the other kids.
Q: Did your friends or family get polio? If so, how did their side effects compare to yours?
A: Nobody in my family got polio. My village was very small and my friend and I were both very young when we got it. I don't know what happened to him, but I assume the side effects were probably the same.
Q: How old were you when you found out that you had polio?
A: I was thirteen months old.
Q: What were the first occurring symptoms?
A: I was too young to remember, but I understand that I had gotten a fever, and experienced weakness in my left leg.
Q: When did you get Polio?
A: I had polio in 1936. It was 78 years ago.
Q: What measures, in your life, were taken to help cure the disease?
A: I was born in a small village in Italy. There was no real doctor in town and there were certainly no hospitals. The town doctor told my mother to boil water and to dip towels in it, then cover my left side with the hot towels. He also told her to massage my leg.
Q: Did anyone that you know get polio also?
A: A few other people in the village had gotten it also, but mainly, there was a neighbor around my age that I would always play with. He had gotten polio too, so he was kept inside, and eventually the doctor thought that he had been cured, we began to play together again. But, the polio was not all gone from his body, so because of the times that we would be around each other while he had polio, I got it also.
Q: Was polio all over the news?
A: Since I was too young to remember and I lived in a very remote village, it probably was just talk around the village. There were no newspapers or televisions. It probably was on the news in the city.
Q: How long did the polio seem to last?
A: It lasted for a few months.
Q: What were the short term side effects?
A: I had a fever and my left leg was very weak and I wasn't able to stand on it. I had a lot of trouble walking.
Q: What were some of the long term side effects?
A: My left leg didn't develop like my right leg. I still have a problem with it today.
Q: Did you hear much about Jonas Salk?
A: Yes. I know that he discovered the polio vaccine. I heard about him when I came to the country (America) in 1947.
Q: How many vaccines were made during the time that you had polio?
A: None.
Q: How had polio affected your life after you had been cured from it?
A: My left leg has always been weaker than my right leg. Because of it, I couldn't play sports and I was slower than all of the other kids.
Q: Did your friends or family get polio? If so, how did their side effects compare to yours?
A: Nobody in my family got polio. My village was very small and my friend and I were both very young when we got it. I don't know what happened to him, but I assume the side effects were probably the same.