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Polio Update

David Hersey’s Story

(Editor?s Note: David Hersey recently sent this to us
regarding his ? rst experience at our Post-Polio Conferences
a few years ago. He now lives in Missouri.)

“Today?s activity would be a ? rst for me since I had
never been to a post polio meeting before. A few weeks
ago I received a ? yer from the Maine Pine Tree Society,
which sponsors the post polio support group, about a state
wide meeting to be held at their Lodge on North Pond near
Belgrade. Hey, it was going to be on a Saturday, and it was
only about twenty miles from my home in Norridgewock.

? fteen month old baby has no real memories of

being sick with polio. I can tell you quite a bit about braces,
surgery, and hospital visits, but not anything about my six
months as a patient in Hyde Home. Hyde Home was a
mansion in the seacoast town of Bath, Maine that the Pine
Tree Society purchased and converted into a rehabilitation
hospital for those who had polio.

But now, here I was at a meeting with about seventy

? ve people I did not know. The meeting was good and
informative. Introductions were made, the program passed
out and all of that stuff. The keynote speaker was a Portland

doctor with information for us on post polio. But before he
spoke, we were introduced to an elderly woman who worked
as a nurse with polio patients at Hyde Home in the early
1950?s.

Her name was Lois Stevens. Everyone called her

“Burnsie”. It was obvious that most of the attendees to this
meeting knew her very well. This lady had helped many of
these survivors of polio to recover from this disease. There
was a strong affection here for Burnsie as she related to us
some of her experiences as a young nurse during the polio
epidemics. She even spoke of her love for her “polio babies”
that were at Hyde Home.

During lunch, I went over to speak to Burnsie. ?I

don?t know you, but I think that I am one of your polio
babies”—that came out of my mouth. As we began to
exchange information about events that took place over
forty years ago, she remembered my father: the veterinarian
from Fryeburg. Burnsie Stevens hugged one of her polio
babies right there in front of everyone. In fact, she got kind
of emotional. After all, she did take care of me almost every
day for six months. She even taught me how to walk again.
No, I don?t remember it, but thank you, Burnsie: I can
walk.”

Superfoods

There have been a number of articles and reports about various
foods that are highly concentrated with quality nutrients,
often called “superfoods”. Here is a condensed version of
one article, found in Shaw?s Wild Harvest - September 2008
brochure with sources from www.webmd.com, www.oprah.
com and www.superfoodsrx.com., which appears to cover a
good variety of nutrients.

Superfoods are typically loaded with nutrients, ? ber and
antioxidants, along with phytochemicals (substances in
plants that give them color, taste and disease resistance).
Nutrients are vitamins, minerals, and, sometimes, healthy
fats, proteins and/or carbs. Fiber aids digestion and improves

absorption of nutrients. Antioxidants help to stabilize cell-
damaging free radicals and protect the body from wear and
tear, while also helping to strengthen the immune system,
muscles, bones and skin.

Try increasing the number and variety of superfoods in your
diet. You can start with just one or more each week, then
increase to one or more each day, such as by switching to
whole grains from a re? ned product (such as whole wheat
pasta instead of regular, white ? our pasta). Here are 10
superfoods that may help lead you toward a healthier body:
beans (black, kidney and pinto are suggested), blueberries,
broccoli (others in the cruciferous family are very good, too,
such as cauli? ower, kale, and cabbage), oats, salmon, soy,
spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, and yogurt.