Red Deer Rotarians raising funds, awareness to help end polio

“They had really only just got the vaccine going, and it’s in three or four different parts, and I had only had a part of it,” recalls Harmon. “It definitely affected me in my life and so if I hadn’t even had that part of the vaccine, it could have really been quite disastrous. Many died and my feeling is the vaccine is so important, people need to get it because it would wipe it out.”

Ironically enough, Harmon points out she was actually in hospital getting her tonsils out when she contracted polio.

“You first feel a little bit ill for a few days, then your limbs or part of your body are affected, they get paralysis,” explains Harmon. “The left side of my leg up to my hip and muscle went dead, so I’ve been a long time having physiotherapy and osteopath. Then I had a number of operations starting when I was 12-years-old to straighten my foot as my foot was very deformed.”

She says that experience saw her in a surgical ward alongside many other children dealing with various other limb deformities like hers.

“We all came out of there healed,” sighs Harmon. “In my case, my foot was very deformed and they had to completely open up my foot and straighten it, so they did a great job and it was a huge part in my road to recovery. I’m extremely grateful for all the help I received from doctors and medical workers over the years. That helped me be able to walk like I do today.”

Polio is described by health officials as a disease that mainly affects children under the age of five and has no cure but is preventable through vaccine.

Poliovirus is said to spread person to person, typically through contaminated water and can attack the nervous system, in some instances leading to paralysis.

Although there is no cure, there is a safe and effective vaccine that can be offered, one which Rotary and its partners use to immunize over 2.5 billion children worldwide. In fact, Rotary has contributed more than US $1.7 billion to ending polio since 1985, including over $3 million contributed by local District 5360.

Only three countries are said to remain endemic (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria), with polio cases having now been reduced by 99.9 per cent since 1988 according to officials with the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, until a cure is found, officials say every child is at risk.

by Sheldon Spackman

Red Deer Rotarians raising funds, awareness to help end polio

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