A POLIO SURVIVOR’S STORY
A Testimonial to E.C. Rosenow’s
Therapeutic Polio Vaccine
by
Treva Davis and S. Hale Shakman
1. Background Emails
Treva Davis
& S. Hale Shakman
2. STRICKEN by Treva Davis
Preface:
Because email
correspondence between us tells the marvelous story of how
we had connected six decades following her bout with
poliomyelitis, it is incorporated herein in totality.
This is followed
by the text of her story, “Stricken”, in her own words, which
was able to be completed with the help of the email
correspondence.
The full text of
Treva’s story, "Stricken", is also posted separately.
S. Hale Shakman,
Subject: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Hello,
I had polio
in 1947 and was successfully treated by Dr. Benjamin Rappaport.
He used his experimental drug on me which had not been AMA
approved at the time due to funding costs.
I have found
a reference to his work in the following manual:
A REFERENCE
MANUAL to essential works and foundations of E. C. ROSENOW
(1875-1966) & ASSOCIATES
-- 6.2 THE
FIRST SUCCESSFUL PROPHYLACTIC POLIO VACCINE
pg 43
-- APPENDIX
D2 BENJAMIN
RAPPAPORT, POLIOMYELITIS, 1954
pg 244
Would you be
able to send me the referenced pages without my having to
purchase the manual. I would be most grateful.
Treva Davis
Subject: Re Polio Treatment in
1947
Dear Treva
Davis:
Thank you for
your email, and for your confirmation of the benefits of
Rapport's poliomyelitis treatment.
Attached is a
copy of the Rappaport article (photocopy within MS word
document) that was reprinted in the Rosenow compilation.
Also attached
is a courtesy (pdf) copy of the book "Reference Manual to ... EC
Rosenow & Associates", which incorporates a typed version of
the Rappaport article and the entire chapter 6 discussing
Rosenow's (including Rapport's) work with polio.
The Rappaport
article states that a previous 20 cases had been treated in
1946, thus indicating that presumably you were one of the only
four cases he treated in 1947.
These are identified only by age (along with dates,
symptoms and treatments).
The ages
listed for the 1947 cases are 11y, 2y, 4½y, and 3y. Can you identify any
of these cases as being yours?
This and any other information/ recollections of the
experience would be much appreciated.
Also, did you
have any residual effects, or something that might be considered
"post-polio syndrome"?
Thank you
again for your email, and in advance for any additional
information you might share. It was very exciting to hear from
you, from the perspective of having studied the Rappaport
article closely with the knowledge that, in contrast to the
universally beneficial results of this therapy, many others who
had polio were not so fortunate.
With kind
regards,
S. Hale
Shakman
InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Re: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To: mail@instituteofscience.com
Dear S. Hale
Shakman,
I am
overwhelmed with gratitude at your answering my email inquiry.
When I sent off my request, I hoped for a response, but not
expect one. Thank you for taking the time to provide me with the
information I sought. I am writing a story about my polio
experience from the point of view of the child who lived it. I
am inserting historical information to educate the reader I want
the reader to have.
I am the 4
1/2 year old treated in September by Dr. Ben, as the children
called him. Dr. Rappaport was far too challenging for little
mouths. I remember receiving the injection in my thigh and
screaming from the pain, while a nurse held me down by pressing
on my legs, causing me even more pain. After the injection and
as the nurse carried me to my crib, I remember my leg feeling
numb and hurting at the same time. I don't recall pain the next
day, but must have slept the rest of the night (I was admitted
at night) and the next day, because the boy next to me was
eating dinner when I awoke. Of course, I thought it was morning
and wondered why he was eating a pork chop, mashed potatoes and
peas.
I'm afraid
that all the information that I have about my case, is strictly
personal and not of much value to you. I remember my hospital
room as having half walls and glass windows all around. This
type of room allowed the children to see each other. There was a
little boy in the crib next to mine. He and I used to have "spit
races" on the glass between our cribs. In looking back, I'm
amazed we got away with that. There were two older children, a
boy and a girl, in rooms across the hall, and I was aware of
children in iron lungs down the hall.
My room had
one wall with a window to the outside, but it was too far away
from my crib to see anything out of it but sky. However, there
was a wonderful cleaning woman who would always "forget" to put
my crib back after she pulled it out to mop. Then I could watch
the boys play football across the street, until someone put my
bed back.
I remember
that when I was sent home I was ordered to stay in bed for three
weeks and to drink lots of milkshakes. I liked the milkshake
part of the orders, but I don't think I was very good at staying
in bed. I might have stayed there for a week.
I always
thought it sad that Dr. Rappaport did not seem to get credit for
what my family certainly considered a miracle cure of my polio.
When I was young, my parents explained that Dr. Ben could not
get the necessary funding to test his polio cure and thereby
gain approval of the AMA and FDA. Praise God that his treatment
was available to me and other children like me, since it was
many more years before Salk and Sabin came on the scene with
their vaccinations, both of which I remember having to receive
to take, even though I'd had polio. But then, I guess there
are/were different types, so perhaps that was necessary.
As for post
polio syndrome, I still don't have an answer to that and have
quit looking for one. I started to have a lot of muscle pain in
my mid thirties, especially in my low back. I tried to get into
Froedtert Medical Center in Milwaukee for a diagnosis, but was
unsuccessful in getting my insurance company to cover the
testing and exam since a neurologist, who in my opinion knew
nothing about post polio syndrome, but was approved by the
insurance carrier, said I didn't have it. I continued to be
plagued by muscle pain and was even declared disabled for about
a year after I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia at age
54. I was also subsequently diagnosed with chronic fatigue. I am
actually healthier, in less pain and feel less fatigue, since I
retired at age 62.
However, I
still have a lot of muscle pain in my neck and shoulders and my
buttocks traveling down my leg on one side. I don't seem to have
so much fatigue any longer, since I can set my own schedule. And
since my fatigue is not getting worse, this may mean I don't
have post polio syndrome. I just continue to try to treat the
symptoms and not worry about a name for it all.
Thank you
again for copies of the research I need for my story. It will
make it complete.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Subject: Re: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "
To: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
Dear Treva
Davis:
Thank you for
your lovely email and all the fascinating tidbits you were so
kind to share therein, and please be assured that the
"overwhelmed with gratitude" is a mutual and not understated
emotion. That you
were able to identify yourself as the 4-1/2 year old child in
the chart truly had me tingling and tearing up.
Coincidentally
I was also 4-1/2 years old in September 1947, born
Hoping to
read your story when completed; your mention of the kids in iron
lungs was particularly striking, as we tend to forget how
devastating this disease was for so many.
However your
continuing symptoms might be categorized, it is interesting to
note that the 1947 chart also refers to pain in neck and back at
the time of admission. Further it is noted that the work of EC
Rosenow (whose vaccine in the form of antibody had been used by
"Dr. Ben") had referred to fibrositis and that of his mentor
Frank Billings had similarly referred to myalgia; and further
that mutations of a sort of the fundamentally same organism that
Rosenow had indicated in the case of polio were involved; so
symptoms that had been identified as fibromyalgia could have
thus been related to the prior poliomyelitis. But of course that is
neither here nor there as pertains to the continuing symptoms.
In the
absence of a specific treatment that is relieving your symptoms,
please be advised of the potential of "autohemotherapy"
(immediate intramuscular reinjection of one's own blood),
summarily discussed at:
http://instituteofscience.com/hemo.html
and
http://instituteofscience.com/autohemo.html
as augmented
by the 66 years of experience discussed by Dr. Luiz Moura of
http://instituteofscience.com/MouraDVD.htm
Dr. Moura
discusses one case in particular of leg pain eased by
autohemotherapy, and I personally have been relieved of pain in
my left thumb muscle/joint over a sustained period of time. Coincidentally my
thumb area is increasingly looking like that (as I recall) of a
cousin whose had been deformed as a result of being afflicted
with polio as a child (he's in
Thanks again
for your emails. Please
do not hesitate to contact me if there is any other information
on any of this that I might attempt to provide.
With kind
regards, and gratitude.
Sincerely,
S. Hale
Shakman
InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Re: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Dear S. Hale
Shakman,
I want to
acknowledge that I received your very enlightening email
containing your gracious offer to answer questions I might have.
I have so much to say and not much time at the moment. I also
want to visit the sights you referenced.
Is the first
"a" in your last name a short "a?" Do you mind sharing whether
you are a man or a woman? Hale is masculine Old English, meaning
sturdy stock. Your language discloses that you are highly
intelligent and well educated. Are you a research scientist? I
am a woman, which may not be evident by my name, as yours is
not. The "e" in my first name is a long "e." Treva is the
feminine of Trevor and is Welch, meaning home loving.
Regarding
your thumb, do you think you were exposed to polio that went
undiagnosed?
I am most
interested in the autohemotherapy you describe and am anxious to
do further research on it at the sites you referenced. I have
found that traditional Western medicine doctors have not been
much help to me, but those who are considered to be "operating
on the fringe" have more useful ideas for treatment. The
autohemotherapy is all the more intriguing since my inner voice
keeps saying "if you could just get this or that muscle injected
with something, the spasm might subside." When I mentioned my
personal cure fantasy to my chiropractor, (who has been most
helpful to me) he said, "but with what?" Now I know with what.
How amazing!
You are a
gift from God to me. I cannot help but think that He planned our
current exchange a long time ago, and I thank Him. It will be a few days
before I can give your letter the attention it deserves. Thank
you again for your generosity in sharing your knowledge and
yourself, personally, with me.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Subject: Re: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "
To: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
Hi Treva.
The S stands
for Stuart which my mother thought sounded nice with Hale (she
named me "Hale for Health" and needed a first name with an S; I
was named after a grandfather, Schlomo Hersch, thus the initials
S H in the Jewish tradition; so my name is health and my work is
health - what a coincidence!).
Have used "Hale" and "Shak" on the medical side, sometimes "Dr.
Dad" (DrDad.com).
Both
"Autohemotherapy" and the "Focal Infection" concept (as relates
to the works of Rosenow, thus Rappaport), are not actually
alternative medicine, except as alternatives to the current
medical fads, but are indeed mainstream albeit historical
medical concepts, with more than 40+ items each in the Journal
of the AMA and many other legit medical journals.
Both concepts
continue to be discussed in the current literature, both
directly and indirectly. For
example, autohemotherapy does in fact involve "autologous
(intramuscular) stem cell therapy" which is the modern rage; and
every antibiotic prescribed in association with dental
intervention is an acknowledgment of the importance of the focal
infection concept (the role of infected teeth and/or tonsils as
a "nest" of infection underlying a range of disorders; tonsils
were particularly noted as "reservoirs" associated with polio).
Re my thumb
and the possibility of a latent or undiagnosed polio connection,
it is possible; however, in any case, all of these chronic
conditions have been properly characterized as manifestations of
"chronic streptococcal disease -- the Billings Rosenow syndrome"
by the great Martin H. Fischer in his landmark book, Death and
Dentistry (1940). They're
all in a sense related; the organism that likes to eat us will
vary its taste for different organs etc. depending on our
constitutional or genetic weakness or opening, and other
factors. I like the
analogy of people eating chicken; light meat or dark? Sometimes you develop
a taste for one or the other or it changes; so it is with the
bugs that eat us.
Apologies for
the slow response; hope this is helpful; please don't hesitate
to follow up as desired.
With kind
regards and continued appreciation for the contact.
Sincerely,
Dr. Dad
S. Hale ("Dr.
Dad") Shakman, PhD (History)
Founder and
Dean of Historical Research
www.InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Re: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Hi Dr. Dad,
First, let me
apologize for having dropped out of site for so long. I meant to
tell you I was going out of town, but never got to it. Then
there were all the vegetables to be harvested, then there was
family and. . . . Well, those are my reasons, even if not good
excuses.
I want to
thank you so much for sharing such valuable information with me,
not only to help me write about my experience, but to help me
better understand the circumstances of the day and to correct
thinking that had been passed down from my parents. I also thank
you for sharing yourself with me and giving of your valuable
time.
My parents
thought that I received Dr. (Ben's) Rappaport's vaccine and that
he could not afford the funding necessary to test it for public
use. I now understand that it was created and provided by Dr.
Rosenow.
Was it Dr.
Rosenow who could not get funding, or was that not a factor?
Why didn't
Dr. Rosenow's vaccine ever get pushed to the forefront as did
Sabine's and Salk's, since clearly it worked.
How can a
vaccine (Dr. Rosenow's) work so quickly in a patient? I thought
a vaccine triggered the body to make antibodies. If the body is
already dealing with the virus that is making them sick, how can
more of that virus heal them?
My spinal
fluid cell count was 447. I assume that was white cells,
correct? Was it possible to count viruses in 1947?
I got 40 cc's
of vaccine, which equates to 1.35 oz. I remember the syringe as
being quite large. Is this a large dose or did I just have
little eyes? I did see in Dr. Ben's chart that some others
received higher dosages?
Thank you
also for the information on Autohemotherapy. It is a treatment I
will be looking into. Hopefully it could correct some chronic
leg pain I've been struggling with for years - or even my neck
or low back pain. There's so many places to choose from. Ha! I
just thank God that he keeps me moving and He continues to gift
me with people like you who aid me in my journey. Praise Him for
the new pain-free body He'll be giving me in heaven!
I am still
working on my story. It keeps getting longer as I add background
information. There is so much I want to tell, especially since
you've provided me so much material to examine. Although the
story starts out as being told by a four-year-old, I'm emphatic
that background information be included as asides so that
whoever is reading it will receive knowledge of the disease and
the times in addition to a experiencing a little girl's
sickness. My writing class has tried to dissuade me for this
format, but I don't think the story is complete without it.
How
interesting that you were named in the Jewish tradition that
repeats your grandfather's initials. I never knew of that
practice. My mother claimed that my great grandmother read my
name in a book, and insisted I was not named after my great aunt
Treva, who sadly was an alcoholic, but had a great spirit,
none-the-less.
I do so
appreciate all that you've shared with me, and again apologize
for being silent to you for so long.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Subject: Fw: Polio Treatment in
1947
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Hello again,
I'm quite
sure you are a very busy man, but I was afraid you might not
have received my letter of October 9th, so I am sending it
again. Perhaps I went over my question quota.
Gratefully
yours,
Treva
Subject: Re;
your last email and followup: 1,000,000 apologies for late
acknowledgement
From: "
To: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
Dear Treva
Davis
Yes I did get
your email, and it sent me back to the research mode, still
ongoing, to trace the development of the treatment you received
-- which did directly relate to Rosenow's work on polio as early
as 1916. Still
working on it, and will get back to you asap. Very interesting.
I really do
appreciate your probing questions as it is requiring this redig;
but it can really be brain-twisting and time-consuming.
Meanwhile, I
had a scheduled visit with my daughter in
Just got
back, and enroute have been reviewing Rosenow's earlier
articles.
In a
nutshell, he was using so-called immune horse serum as early as
1916, with good results, but with reactions. This work continued
through the years with improved results, and in many many cases,
over time refining the serum to extract globulins, but still
with frequent undesirable reactions.
Then he
developed the thermal antibody and found it appeared to contain
the same beneficial globulins that had been in the horse serum,
according to extensive skin reaction tests (but without the
related unwanted reactions that had been associated with the
horse serum). He
then tested it on some polio patients in the 1946 polio
epidemic, not long before your group, with successful results,
albeit with a different method of dose determination, based on
age.
Rappaport
treated a group before yours, and then yours, with dose
seemingly based also on severity.
Still sorting out the details, but it's very interesting
(from a "technical" perspective) in that prior to the advent of
the thermal antibody Rosenow's work seems to have progressed on
two tracks -- one for polio, using so called immune serum, and
the other for all the other disease conditions with which he
worked. With
the advent of the thermal antibody the two tracks seemed to
merge. The
particular continuing distinction seems to be related not so
much to the type of condition (i.e. polio versus others) but
rather acute (large doses) versus chronic (small doses) -- I
think. Still
digging.
Anyway,
that's what I have been doing, and still have some more to do. Will get the results
to you as soon as it's put together. I think the above is
fundamentally correct (and very exciting), but not sure if I'm
missing something. But
thanks again for "forcing" me to do it.
Will also try
to more directly answer you email questions once I have a better
idea of what I'm talking about.
By the way,
where are you located? Still
in the midwest? I
may be back in
Best regards,
and thank you very much for the followup email. Know that you are very
much in my thoughts.
Sincerely,
S. Hale
Shakman, PhD
InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Re: your last email
and followup: 1,000,000 apologies for late acknowledgement
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Dear Friend,
Again I am
overwhelmed at your devotion to me. I feel so unworthy, but am
so grateful for your care and concern.
Now I have to
digest what you have just sent.
Yes, I am
still in the
How exciting
that Rosenow's work on the 1918 flu could be applied to the
current H1N1. My own doctor is not giving the current H1N1
vaccine, since he thinks it hasn't been sufficiently tested. And
remembering becoming ill from the swine flu vaccine in the 70s.
I'm comfortable with his thinking.
Thank you
again for your answers and the energy you are putting into
answering my questions. I will wait patiently for more answers.
With
gratitude,
Treva
Subject: Re: your last email
and followup: 1,000,000 apologies for late acknowledgement
From:
"Institute Of mail@instituteofscience.com
To: "Treva Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
Dear Treva
Davis:
Thanks for
your lovely email, and apologies again for taking so long to
respond, but at my age (which is exactly the same as yours!) my
brain offers more resistance than ever.
The picture
emerging thus far is essentially that outlined in my last email
(below), with an interesting note that Rosenow first attempted
use of the "thermal antibody" in the 1946 epidemic, just before
the Rappaport series as per below, because he ran out of
sufficient horse-derived serum antibody -- as well as in
conjunction with a convincing series of skin test reactions with
a range of disease conditions that had indicated the propriety
of this approach.
Subsequent to
Rosenow's initial treatment of 26 polio patients with this
thermal antibody, in 1946, "doctor Ben" Rappaport treated a
series of 20 patients also in 1946, and then the subsequent
series of 26 patients including you. I plan to write up the
technical stuff in article format, at a minimum to publish on
the InstituteOfScience.com website and hopefully also elsewhere,
but you pretty much now have the essence; so please do not hold
up your progress on your project waiting for my further
discussion. I will
of course get you a copy of my completed paper, and/or
preliminary update(s) if something substantial is encountered
prior.
Again, I am
equally grateful to you for the contact, as this is spurring a
revisiting of Rosenow's work, results of which may even be of
service to his great and ever-improving legacy through an even
further synthesis commensurate with his spirit and substance.
Meanwhile I
have a couple questions for you:
1.
2. My first cousin Norman
Dolin, a few months older than us, was also afflicted with polio
(without the benefit of Rosenow's antibody), with some residual
effects and now, as with you, seemingly having some revisiting
of "post-polio" symptoms. I
have not been in touch as we have lived in various other places,
but my brother in
Question: Would you mind
if I forwarded a copy of our correspondence to Norm? I don't know if any of
this will be helpful to him, but, hopefully, perhaps.
With kind
regards,
S. Hale
"Shak" Shakman, InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Re: your last email
and followup: 1,000,000 apologies for late acknowledgement
From: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Hi,
I got your
email, but life is a little crazy right now. Please allow me
some time to process it and answer questions.
Thanks, my
friend.
Treva
Subject: My absence
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To:
mail@instituteofscience.com
Hi Dr. Dad,
I'm so sorry
about my absence from your life, but I am dealing with a lot of
"issues" as they say. I'll
give you the capsule version.
This winter I
have had debilitating pain in my back, buttocks and legs. I had
assumed it was muscle pain, but it was not responding to any
treatment. I thought perhaps it was PPS that had finally
progressed to a bad stage. Eventually I had an MRI to see what
was going on.
Seven bulging
disks and foramenal narrowings later I learned that it's nerve
pain, which is why pain killers and my TENS unit didn't help,
nor were the exercises and adjustments I was getting.
I know that
God orchestrated all of this, starting with my pain so that I
would have an MRI to reveal a mass on my right thyroid. Things
have been moving rather quickly since that discovery on 2/1. My
only symptom is fatigue, which I attributed to chronic pain. My
neck has only hurt since the biopsy. On Tuesday, March 9th, at
I have not
other info as to what stage it is, whether it's metastasized or
what kind of treatment to expect after surgery - possibly none,
since medullary cancer does not respond to chemo or radioactive
iodine.
I am in the
Lord's hands and trust His will for my life. I am not afraid and
will be fine in His care.
Please
forgive my lack of correspondence, but I have only made it to
one writing class this year.
I hope you
are well and please know that I will return to my polio story
and to you.
Treva
Subject: Re: My absence
From: "
To: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
Dear Treva
Davis,
Thank you
again for your continued correspondence.
I regret that
you have had some difficulties, and further that I was not in a
position to be of assistance.
My thoughts and prayers are with you for a speedy and
full recovery.
And as if you
might need further encouragement, please be reminded that your
story is very important, and could be of great benefit, to many
others.
If more
convenient than email, please feel free to contact me by phone
(1-310-453-7707) if you wish, to say hello or for any other
reason.
With kind
regards and best wishes,
Dr. Dad aka
S. Hale Shakman, PhD
InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Praise God
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To: List
Hi All,
I finally got
a pathology report today through my oncologist. The margins were
clean, it the cancer not metastasized to the lymph nodes. In
addition to the medullary cancer, I had a 3 mm papillary cancer
on the back of my thyroid, but he believes that is gone along
with the thyroid that was removed.
I thank you
all for your fervent prayers. I'm sure God was saying, "I hear
you, already!"
I see the
endocrinologist in early April, but the oncologist said he does
not need to see me again. I just need genetic testing to find
out if this is just little ol' me mutating or if I have a gene
for this cancer.
Thank you all
again and again. To God be the glory! Let Him continue to use
me.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Prayer
Request
From: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>View contact details
To: [LIST]
Hi friends,
I had an
encouraging visit with my new endocrinologist yesterday. He said
that because there was no cancer found in any of the lymph nodes
that were removed my prognosis is good for the medullary cancer
not returning. Praise God! Also, since the secondary papillary
cancer was so small, we will not have to do chemo or radiation
treatment for it. He said I had an excellent surgeon who got all
the cancer out and left my parathyroid glands intact, which
perform important functions, and helped me retain my singing
voice, although it's a bit lower. To God be the glory!
He confirmed
what the geneticist said that I am not likely to have a mutated
RET gene which could have passed cancer on to my children and
grandchildren, but that we should test anyway. The test was done
yesterday, but will take about a month for results.
He and my surgeon will
be following up with me in two months and every six months after
that to make sure I stay healthy.
The new med
for my COPD seems to be helping me cough less, for which (after
eight years) I am most grateful. Praise God!
I still need
prayer for my back pain, which is pretty severe right now. But I
am prayerfully hopeful that the hydro therapy I start this week
and the acupuncture I am going to pursue will help relieve my
pain so I can pick up my grandchildren, make dinner and "play in
the garden" this summer. It's calling me.
I still don't
have much energy, but I've had three days without any nausea.
Praise God! So I hope it is gone. I now think it was a drug
hangover from the hospital. I don't do hospital drugs well at
all.
Thank you all
for blessing me with your love and your prayers. I have never
felt so loved as I have in the past month.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Re: Prayer
Request and Back Pain
From: "S.
Hale Shakman, PhD" <shak@instituteofscience.com>
To: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
Dear Treva
Davis:
Thank you for
sharing all this overall good news, with regrets re the
continuing back pain.
On that
subject, please be referred for consideration to the procedure
known as autohemotherapy, as discussed at
instituteofscience.com/auhemo.html
Of particular
possible interest on this subject is the following article,
published today in the San Francisco Chronicle, describing how
the golfer Tiger Woods had used a form of autohemotherapy to
overcome his problems with pain:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/13/MNAT1CRU2D.DTL
It is
arguably likely that the simple method described at
instituteofscience.com/autohemo.html is as, or even more,
effective than that used by Tiger Woods, but even that, at $500,
this so-called "blood spinning" is far less expensive and less
risky than any conventional treatment of which I am aware.
Best wishes
to you, and looking forward to reading more of your write-up of
your polio experience.
With kind
regards,
S. Hale
Shakman, PhD
InstituteOfScience.com
Subject: Re: Prayer Request and
Back Pain
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To:
shak@instituteofscience.com
Hello my
friend,
Thank you for
your constant support. I'm working on the story, but must admit
I run out of energy very quickly. Hopefully this will change. I
don't tolerate any sorts of stimulants so have to let my body
take its course in healing. I get jumpy and twitchy on
decongestants and even decaf.
My doctor
(I'm now seeing an osteopath) wants to know more about
autohemotherapy and who does it in our area. I have printed your
article as well as the "blood spinning" article for her to read.
She was not familiar with autohemotherapy, but did not put it
down simply because she didn't know about it. So far I have not
found any practitioners who are familiar with the correct
application of autohemotherapy. Please let me know if you have a
resource for finding a practitioner in the
Today I had
my second acupuncture treatment. I had some relief on Sat and
Sun, but was back to square one this morning. I go for my first
hydro therapy treatment (essentially exercises in a warm pool)
tomorrow. The PT has only helped a little. The hydro therapy and
the acupuncture are scheduled for twice weekly for two weeks and
then we will re-evaluate.
I have high
hopes for healing.
Thank you
again for your concern and support. I will be in touch.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Subject: Re: Prayer Request and
Back Pain
From: "S.
Hale Shakman, PhD" <shak@instituteofscience.com>
To: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
Dear Treva
Davis,
Thank you for
your email and ever-positive perspectives.
A. Regarding
autohemotherapy, apologies for an erroneous link in my last
email. For future
reference, the direct link to my summary article on
autohemotherapy is:
instituteofscience.com/hemo.html
The
current/ongoing works of Dr. Luis Moura of
http://instituteofscience.com/MouraDVD.htm
In the
Therefore any
DO, MD or other duly authorized person could perform it;
unfortunately it is so simple that they could not charge much
for the service, which may also help explain why it (in its pure
form) is not more popular currently.
Thus, in
seeking a "practitioner" of autohemotherapy per se in your
geographic area, please be advised and arguably "beware" of a
modern "trend" of sorts to unqualifiedly (and thus I feel
improperly) use the term "autohemotherapy" for more complex,
arguably less effective, arguably more dangerous, and invariably
vastly more expensive methodologies: i.e., practices using the
title of "autohemotherapy" or so called (by its advocates)
"major autohemotherapy", that involve removal and ozonization,
irradiation and/or defibrination of autologous blood, and
intravenous reinjection.
Rather, your
path of asking your doctor to perform autohemotherapy is much
more desirable; thus the widely-publicized safety of the far
more complex (thus arguably more dangerous) procedure of
blood-spinning may hopefully serve as further assurance that the
simple method of autohemotherapy will likewise cause no harm. It is 100% natural
you.
(It is also
possible you may find a homeopath or naturopath that already
currently uses simple autohemotherapy, depending on the
regulations in your area; notwithstanding the homeopaths seeming
to tend to want to add some "magical" homeopathic potion, which
I would reject.)
B. Re how
this relates to our prior commonality, i.e., the Rappaport/
Rosenow connection:
1.
Autohemotherapy is not a cure; it merely is taking whatever is
in your bloodstream, that which may be relating to the cause of
your discomfort, and turning it into a "vaccine" of sorts. So the treatments will
have to be continued, perhaps on a weekly basis as advocated by
Dr. Moura, or twice-weekly as advocated (in the case of his
vaccines) by Rosenow for chronic conditions (I thus prefer a
twice-weekly regimen personally).
2. The
question then becomes how to eliminate the problem at its
source, which if we are to acknowledge and accept the legacy of
Rosenow, must be within the oral area. In the case of
poliomyelitis, within the oral area, the tonsils of affected
children were particularly involved, and thus the aftermath of
residual infection could accordingly reside in or around
tonsillar remnants; however it must be emphasized that the same
microbial chronically-infectious forms are also and universally
associated with infected areas in and/or around any or all
compromised teeth. Martin
Fischer in particular recommended consideration of removal of
virtually all teeth after a certain age (which we have passed)
in consideration of their invariably-infected status; which
recommendation I have accepted for myself. This is of course a
more involved longer-range course of action, but nonetheless one
which I am convinced is necessary for definitive resolution.
Hoping this
information will be helpful.
Please do not hesitate to ask if there is additional
information I may have access to that may be helpful to you or
your doctor.
With kind
regards,
S. Hale
Shakman, PhD
InstituteOfScience.com
Subject:
Thanks for giving me the bird, etc.
From: "S.
Hale Shakman, PhD" <shak@instituteofscience.com>
To: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
Dear Treva
Davis:
Thank you for
sending your story "Stricken", and for the cool drinking bird! Something to come home
to, with fond thoughts of your homecoming long ago.
Clearing up a
section on your page 3 that you did not have complete
information about, i.e., the earlier 1948 article by Rappaport:
Regarding
your next-to-last paragraph on page 3, beginning with "I also
received a spinal tap ..." [cell count 447]:
The earlier,
1948 Rappaport article reported on a series of 20 consecutive
cases, all in 1946, which were the first cases treated by
Rappaport with Rosenow's vaccine.
The article notes "This thermal antibody for acute
poliomyelitis contains no horse serum, and delayed reactions did
not occur." (Rosenow's
earlier polio work, as early as 1917, had involved horse serum
[Rosenow, E.C., The treatment of epidemic poliomyelitis with
immune horse serum. Preliminary report. Jour. Am. Med. Assn.
69:1074 1075, 1917]).
The later,
1954, article by Rappaport, which is in my book and which you
have, reported on 26 cases from 1947 to 1951. Yours was the third
listed in this article, the 23rd overall, which is why the
numbers on the cases in the article you have go from number 21
through 46.
Your blood
count was the highest of all of the 46 cases reported by
Rappaport in the two articles.
The earlier
(1948) article did not mention prophylactic use of the thermal
antibody; this was only mentioned at the end of the 1954
article, referring here to the 26 cases including yours from
1946 to 1951: "Thirty known contacts exposed by these 26 cases
of poliomyelitis were each given 10cc of the thermal antibody
and none developed poliomyelitis."
I will mail
you a copy of the 1948 article so you will have a complete
picture of Rappaport's work with the Rosenow antibody as
background/ clarification for your story.
When you
integrate this information to your satisfaction, I would be
pleased to technically review it again; and when you are ready
to make your story public, it would be a pleasure to post it
(along with the Rappaport articles) or a link or other reference
to it, as per your preference at the time.
With kind
regards,
Hale aka "Dr.
Dad" aka
S. Hale
Shakman
InstituteOfScience.com
PS: Thanks
again for giving me the bird.
Re: Thanks
for giving me the bird, etc.
From: "Treva
Davis" trevad@centurytel.net
To: shak@instituteofscience.com
Hi Dr. Dad,
I was
wondering if you were okay. Thank you so much for reviewing my
story. I hope it is all you were expecting. Thank you also for
all the comments. I will work on incorporating them.
I still have
questions regarding the "447 cell count." Are they white cells?
Is it 447, literally, or in the thousands (4470). Is the
measurement 447 cells per milliliter of spinal fluid? I could
not find clear answers to these questions.
Thanks,
especially for clearing up the prophylactic use of the vaccine.
I thought using it on the kids was considered prophylactic. I
never did understand how giving a vaccine to one after he has
contracted polio can work. But, well, it certainly did.
Thanks again
for your help. I will work on fixing things in a week or so.
On a
different note, I am seeing a physiatrist about my back next
week. He doesn't do surgery, so hopefully he will give me an
objective opinion. I haven't found anyone willing to try the
autohemotherapy, but I'm not sure how that can heal pinched
nerves anyway.
I think I
really could have used it this week when I had neck and shoulder
spasms. I told my chiropractor once (before I knew you) that my
inner voice was saying, "If I could just have these muscles
injecting with something, they might calm down." And he said,
"But what?" Now I know, my own blood. We're very conservative
here in the
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
PS I'm glad
you enjoyed getting the bird.
Subject: Re:
Thanks for giving me the bird, etc.
From: S. Hale
Shakman, PhD
To: Treva
Davis
Sent:
Hi Treva and
thanks again for the story, bird and lovely photo and note. Adding comments in ALL
CAPS within the text of your email, below:
--- On Thu,
I still have
questions regarding the "447 cell count." Are they white cells?
Is it 447, literally, or in the thousands (4470). Is the
measurement 447 cells per milliliter of spinal fluid? I could
not find clear answers to these questions.
I DON'T KNOW. THAT'S WHY I USED THE
EXACT TERMINOLOGY THAT WAS IN THE REPORT IN MY EMAIL. WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT
YOURS WAS THE HIGHEST BY FAR, AND THIS SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN A
NOT-GOOD INDICATOR JUDGING FROM THE TEXT OF THE ARTICLE.
Thanks,
especially for clearing up the prophylactic use of the vaccine.
I thought using it on the kids was considered prophylactic. I
never did understand how giving a vaccine to one after he has
contracted polio can work. But, well, it certainly did.
THE USE OF
VACCINE/ANTIBODY ON YOU "KIDS" WAS A "THERAPEUTIC VACCINE", A
FORM OF "VACCINE-THERAPY", ALBEIT USING THERMAL ANTIBODY. A PROPHYLACTIC VACCINE
IS GIVEN PRIOR TO GETTING THE DISEASE, IN THE HOPES IT CAN BE
AVERTED. THE SALK
AND SABIN VACCINES WERE PROPHYLACTIC, I.E., GIVEN TO KIDS IN THE
HOPE THEY WOULD NOT GET THE DISEASE.
Thanks again
for your help. I will work on fixing things in a week or so.
On a
different note, I am seeing a physiatrist about my back next
week. He doesn't do surgery, so hopefully he will give me an
objective opinion. I haven't found anyone willing to try the
autohemotherapy, but I'm not sure how that can heal pinched
nerves anyway.
AUTOHEMOTHERAPY
USED TO BE QUITE COMMON, PARTICULARLY BY ALLERGISTS AND
DERMATOLOGISTS. IT
IS NOT ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE; IT IS WELL-ESTABLISHED CONVENTIONAL
MEDICINE, WITH HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED OVER THE YEARS,
BUT LESS SO IN MODERN TIMES AS WONDER DRUGS WERE SUPPOSED TO
CURE EVERYTHING. IT
IS VERY POPULAR IN
SINCE THE
BLOOD CONTAINS WHATEVER MIGHT BE SPREADING AND THUS CAUSING A
SYSTEMIC PROBLEM, REINJECTING IT INTO THE MUSCLE
(RETICULO-ENDOTHELIAL SYSTEM WHERE ANTIBODIES ARE FORMED) TURNS
IT INTO A THERAPEUTIC VACCINE OF SORTS, AT A MINIMUM; IT ALSO
CONTAINS STEM CELLS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF ANTIBODIES FORMED BY
THE COAGULATING BLOOD. YUMMY.
I think I
really could have used it this week when I had neck and shoulder
spasms. I told my chiropractor once (before I knew you) that my
inner voice was saying, "If I could just have these muscles
injecting with something, they might calm down." And he said,
"But what?" Now I know, my own blood. We're very conservative
here in the
AUTOHEMOTHERAPY
SHOULD BE VERY INEXPENSIVE, SINCE THE ONLY COST IS A SYRINGE,
ABOUT 15 CENTS EACH VIA AMAZON.COM. THE OLD DERMATOLOGIST,
NOW PASSED, WHO I HAD ARRANGED TO DO IT FOR ME CHARGED ONLY $35,
AND THEN HELPED/INSTRUCTED ME AS TO HOW TO DO IT ON MYSELF, FOR
FREE (15 CENTS).
KIND REGARDS
AND BEST WISHES
SHAK AKA
DR.DAD
Subject: Re:
Thanks for giving me the bird, etc.
From: Treva Davis
<trevad@centurytel.net>
To:
shak@instituteofscience.com
Date:
Thanks for
clearing up some points. I guess I'll give a further explanation
of the "447 cells" being high and offer my interpretation as a
possible explanation; i.e. white cells per milliliter. It seems
reasonable since I found this below regarding spinal taps.
Normal
Results
CSF cell
count CSF
(cerebral spinal fluid) cell count: 0 - 5 white blood cells (all
mononuclear), and no red blood cells
I will send
the final version when I get it done.
Thanks so
much again.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
Subject: Re:
Thanks for giving me the bird, etc.
From: S. Hale
Shakman, PhD
To: Treva
Davis
Sent:
Dear Treva
Davis:
For your
consideration on the subject of "cell count":
Following are
a few excerpts of articles accessed through google using
keywords from the Rappaport articles:
keywords for
search: spinal fluid cell count poliomyelitis
It is noted
in the first of these cited below: "Patients who developed
paralysis tended to have higher cell counts in the CSF ..."
Insofar as
there is variation in the types of cells, as indicated in this
brief survey; without additional information one might
albeit-intelligently speculate on the composition of, but could not with
certainty improve on Rappaport's specific "blanket" reference
to, "cell count".
Best regards,
SHS
-----
http://www.annals.edu.sg/pdf/34VolNo10200511/V34N10p593.pdf
Routine laboratory tests are usually
non-specific. The total white count may be elevated and
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained from lumbar puncture usually
shows increased cells with a normal or mildly elevated protein
level. The CSF cell picture is initially a polymorphonuclear
leukocytosis shifting to mononuclear cells with cell counts in
the hundreds. Magnetic resonance imaging can demonstrate
inflammation to the spinal cord anterior horns.8 Patients who developed
paralysis tended to have higher cell counts in the CSF and a
higher protein concentration
than patients who did not.
-------
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2529882/pdf/postmedj00602-0023.pdf
Pre,-paralytic stage -- The most
constant finding is an increase in the cell count, which may be
as high as 2,ooo per c.mm.
First week of paralysis -- A fairly
high cell count is still present for the first few days of this
week, but there is a diminution in their numbers during this
period, and as they fall the number of polymorphs present also
diminishes and finally disappears. Thelarder, Shaw and Limper
(I93I) found counts of between 50 and 200 per c.mm., while
Fraser found the polymorph percentage was on the average 34 per
cent. of-the total number on the second day, and only 6 per
cent. on the third day after paralysis. Towards the end of the
week the count often falls below 50- per c.mm.
-------
http://jem.rupress.org/content/18/3/242.full.pdf
[LONG
DISCUSSION OF TYPES OF CELLS IN CSF IN POLIO]
-------
http://www.bmj.com/content/1/4250/758.full.pdf
About the time of the onset of the
paralysis changes begin to occur in the cerebrospinal fluid
which are very characteristic, but these can only be fully
appreciated if two, r tbree specimens are obtained during the
first three weeks of the illness. These changes are: (1) an
early rise in cell count, falling to normal by about the end of
the second week of the illness; (2) a protein content which is
almost normal until some days after
the onset of paralysis, and which rises to a maximum in the
third week. These very characteristic changes were first
demonstrated by Peabody, Draper, and Dochez in 1912, and have
often been confirmed since then.
As to the nature of the cells which cause the early rise,
Howton Merritt and Fremont-Smith
state that 80%. of their cases showed a lymphocytic predominance
within five days of the onset of the paralysis, although the
early counts might consist largely of polymorphonuclear cells.
Similarly, Peabody, Draper, and Dochez state that
"polymorphonuclear cells, except
in small numbers and probably due
for the most part to a slight admixture of blood, were, except
in a very few instances, absent after the first week of the
disease."
Re: Thanks
for giving me the bird, etc.
From: "Treva
Davis" <trevad@centurytel.net>
To:
shak@instituteofscience.com
Oh, good
grief. Any sort of accurate explanation would be way to
complicated for the type of story I've written. I will "fix" the
quote back to Dr. Ben's original words.
Thanks for
the complete info.
Joyfully in
His service,
Treva
By:
Treva
Davis
W390
S3210 Hwy Z
Word
Count 4,437
The
Threat
Although it had been a warm September day, Dad wrapped me
in a blanket. “There,” he said, “snug as a bug in a rug.” Then
he scooped me up and carried me out of the house.
“Is
this the doctor’s car?” I asked, as Dad placed me in the back
seat. I don’t want to be in the doctor’s car. I only like
places I know.
“No,
Tee,” Mom said, “It’s our car.” She was in the front seat.
“Are we going to Dr. Ben’s office? It’s dark out.”
“No,
we’re going to the hospital, because you’re very sick.”
I’d
been throwing up all day. I felt hot all over. My neck and back
hurt. My eyes were sore and my head hurt, like it was too big.
Even though it was nighttime, Dr. Ben came to see me in my bed.
He listened to my heart, looked down my throat and thump-thumped
on my tummy. Then he put his hand on the back of my head and
pushed me forward to touch my forehead to my knees. I couldn’t
do it and my knees popped up to my nose all by their-selves.
“Owwww,
it hurts!” I cried.
Dr. Ben
turned to my parents. “Did you see when I pushed Tee’s head
forward ¾ that
her knees came up involuntarily? That’s a positive Brudzinski
response. I want her in
At the
hospital a nurse took me to a big room and put me on a cold,
hard table. Big bright lights shined on me and made my sore eyes
all squinty. I could see only the people’s eyes ‘cause they had
on masks.
I
don’t like it here. Nobody talks nice to me. Where’s Mommy and
Daddy?
A man
with a white coat and a mask on his face held a huge glass tube
with a big needle sticking out. That looks like the thing
Dr. Ben gives me shots with, but that one’s much bigger.
The man started walking toward me, but a nurse turned me on my
left side so I couldn’t see the big needle any more. Then she
leaned hard on my legs.
Why
are you leaning on my legs so hard? It hurts!
Why
aren’t they nice to me? They’re nice at Dr. Ben’s office. I’m
scared.
Suddenly
I felt a sharp, burning-hot pain in my right thigh. I screamed
and the nurse leaned on my legs harder.
You’re
mashing my legs. It hurts. I don’t want the big shot.
“Yaaah!
I
wailed and wailed, louder and louder and the nurse leaned and
leaned, harder and harder.
“Mommy,
it hurts! Daddy, make them stop!”
The
hurting went on forever. Finally, it stopped and the nurse got
off my legs.
My
hip aches, where I got the big shot. My leg feels numb, like
it’s asleep.
The
nurse picked me up, carried me down a long dark hall and put me
in a crib.
I’m a
big girl. I have a big-girl bed. I don’t need a baby bed. I’m
so sleepy . . ..
[At age four I didn’t realize the danger I was in. In
1947 there was no cure for poliomyelitis, also called infantile
paralysis because it struck mostly children. However, Dr. Ben
(Benjamin Rappaport) received my parents’ permission to treat me
with an experimental thermal poliomyelitis streptococcal
antibody vaccine developed by Dr. E. (Edward) C. Rosenow. The
injection I received, in the side of my upper right thigh,
contained 40 cc of vaccine (a large dose - 1.35 oz). Dr. Ben,
who I didn’t recognize because of his coat and mask, was the man
wielding the huge syringe.
I
also received a spinal tap that measured a “spinal fluid cell
count” of 447, a record high, as reported by Dr. Ben in the 1947
Quarterly Bulletin of Northwestern University Medical School in
association with
In
October 1948 Dr. Benjamin Rappaport was reported in the
Journal-Lancet (68:395-7) as having administered the first
successful prophylactic polio vaccine. He administered 10 cc of
thermal antibody to 30 people who had known contact with 26 of
his polio patients. None of the vaccine recipients developed
poliomyelitis. However, it is Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert
Sabin who are known for eradicating polio. Dr. Salk, who was
financed by the March of Dimes, developed an injectable vaccine
in 1955 using killed poliovirus. Unfortunately, a bad batch of
vaccine sickened, paralyzed and killed some children, so
inoculations were temporarily halted. In 1961 Dr. Sabin
developed a preferred oral vaccine using live attenuated (nearly
killed) poliovirus, which is still being administered today.
The
March of Dimes was a campaign to raise funds for polio research
directed by Basil O’Connor on behalf of his friend, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was believed to have
contracted polio, but more likely had Guillain-Barrè Syndrome,
which results in paralysis similar to that caused by polio.]
When I
woke up I couldn’t find Teddy, my teddy bear. But I did find
Larry, my white llama. Larry had silly ears. They were made of
green felt. Everybody knows llama’s ears aren’t green.
Where’s Teddy? I always sleep with
Teddy. I need to pet his fur when I suck my thumb. Larry’s not
soft ( he’s wooly.
I looked around my room. It was little, as wide as my
crib, only. Two walls were kinda funny ‘cause they went only
halfway up. The top of the wall was a glass window up to the
ceiling. I could see the two rooms across the hall and the room
next door.
There was one outside window too,
but all I could see was a brick wall.
I never saw a room with glass walls.
I sat up in my crib to see better.
I saw a
glass room across the hall with a big girl in a big bed. She was
lying down with her eyes closed and the covers pulled up.
I think she doesn’t feel good.
A lady was sitting on a hard chair next to her bed. I think that’s her mom, ‘cause she’s holding the big girl’s hand and her forehead is all wrinkly like she’s worried.
In the
glass room, next to the big girl, was a big boy in a big bed. He
was lying down with his eyes closed, but no one was holding his
hand.
He must not feel good too. Where’s
his mommy? I bet he’s lonesome.
I grabbed the bars of my crib and
pulled myself up.
My leg hurts.
I looked through the window at the end of my crib.
Hey,
there’s a little boy in a crib like mine. He’s eating a pork
chop, mashed potatoes and peas. Ick, I hate peas. Why is he
eating dinner? It’s morning!
I scooched down in my crib real fast, before he saw me.
I want my Puffed
Wheat. “Mommy? Mommy!”
A nurse came real
fast down the hall. I could see her through the windows.
“Are you hungry, Tee?” she asked.
How does she know
my name?
“Uh-huh. Where’s my mommy?”
“Your mommy’s at home. You’re in the hospital because
you’re sick. We’ll take good care of you so you can get well and
go home.”
“I wanna go home. I want my mommy. I want Teddy.”
“I’ll get you something to eat. Then you’ll feel better.”
She left in such a
big hurry I could feel the wind she made.
The nurse came back
pretty quick. She fed me some milk in a little cup. She wouldn’t
let me hold it.
I’m a big girl. I
can feed myself.
Then she scooped up
a gooey egg on a spoon and held it to my lips. I turned my head.
“Mommy makes my
eggs with no gushy part.”
“Just try a
little,” the nurse cajoled.
“I don’t like icky
eggs!”
“Just try some. It
will help you get well.”
“Nooooo!”
The more she
coaxed, the louder I cried. Through my tears I saw a doctor
walking fast down the hall to my room.
“Is everything all
right here? I heard this loud crying and thought . . .,” he
trailed off as he took in the scene.
“She just doesn’t
want to eat her egg,” said the nurse.
“You eat that egg,
now,” he snapped. “It will help you get well.”
“Waaah!” I wailed,
‘til she finally stopped pushing the slimy egg up to my mouth. I
grabbed Larry, hugged him tight and snuffled off to sleep.
Pow Puff
The next morning
Daddy came to see me.
“Hi, Tee,” said
Daddy. “I thought I’d come to see you before I go to work. How
do you feel?”
“I’m not throwing
up any more, Daddy. Where’s Teddy?”
“I’m glad you’re
better, Tee. I’m sorry Teddy couldn’t come to the hospital with
you. If he did, he couldn’t come home again because he’d be full
of bad polio germs.”
“Oh. But, Larry’s
not soft like Teddy.”
“Well, what if I
bring you something soft the next time I come?”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“I have to go to
work now, Tee. I’ll see you soon.”
Daddy came the next
morning again on his way to work.
“Hi, Tee,” said
Daddy. “I brought you a nice soft powder puff.”
“Oh, a pow puff!”
“Oh, I forgot
that’s what you used to call them. Mommy sewed a ribbon to it so
we can tie it to your crib. That way it won’t fall on the floor
and get dirty.”
My pow puff was a
big soft ball of fluff, almost as soft as Teddy.
[I now realize that Dad had to drive a long distance to
visit me. We lived in
Making
Friends
The boy
in the crib next door popped up and knocked on the glass.
“Hi,” he
said. “My name is Timmy. What’s yours?”
“My name
is Tee. How old are you?”
“I’m
five. How old are you?”
“I’m
four.”
“Are you
real sick?” asked Timmy.
“Yeah,
kinda. But I feel better now.”
“I’m
gettin’ better too.”
Timmy
and I could see each other real close ‘cause there just was
glass between us only.
Then
Timmy spit on the glass. A big, juicy gob of spit slid down real
slow. It stopped on the ledge at the bottom of the glass.
“You do
it!” said Timmy.
“Okay.”
I spit. My spit wasn’t big like Timmy’s. But it slid down, down,
down the glass and stopped at the ledge.
“I’ll
race ya!” said Timmy.
“Okay,
I’ll race ya, too.” I stood on tiptoes to get as tall as Timmy.
“One ¾
two ¾
three,” Timmy counted. And we both spit. Slowly Timmy’s spit and
my spit dribbled to the bottom.
“I won!”
said Timmy.
“Let’s
race again!” I said. “On your mark. Get set. Go!” We spit.
“I won
this time!” I said. “Oh-oh,
the nurse is coming.”
We both
scooched down real fast so she wouldn’t know we were havin’ spit
races.
The
nurse came into my room and felt my forehead.
“What’s
the girl’s name over there?” I asked, pointing across the hall.
“That’s
Susan,” said the nurse. “She’s very sick.”
“Oh.
Who’s that boy over there?” I pointed to the room next to
Susan’s.
“That’s
Billy.”
“Oh.”
“Now you
know that you are never to get out of bed, Tee,” warned the
nurse. “You need to rest your muscles so they can get better. No
one should ever get out of bed.”
“Okay.”
Then she
left in a big hurry and made that wind I could feel like the
other nurse.
Across
the hall I could see Billy sitting up in bed lookin’ around, so
I waved at him. Billy waved back and said, “Hi.”
“I’m
tired of sittin’ in this bed,” grumbled Billy. “I’m goin’ for a
walk.”
Timmy
and I chimed in together, “Don’t do it, Billy! It’s against the
rules! We’re s’posed to stay in bed.”
“I don’t
care. I’m gonna do it anyway. Just watch me!”
Billy
pulled back his covers and put both his bare feets on the floor.
He took two steps with his arms sticking out like he was walking
a tightrope.
“Hey,
Billy, the mop-lady is comin’!” I said. Billy hopped back in bed
quick as a bunny and pretended he wasn’t naughty.
I liked
the mop-lady. She gave me a ride in my crib so she could mop
behind it. Then I could see through the outside window. I saw
boys playing football across the street. When the mop-lady was
done, she didn’t put my crib back. She was nice to me.
One
morning, when Daddy came to see me, he brought some bubble
stuff. It was real fun ‘cause you could make your own balloons
then chew ‘em like gum when they got old. He brought some for
Timmy too.
“Timmy,
do you know how to make bubbles with the bubble stuff?”
“No.
Whadaya do?”
“You
squeeze the tube and put a blob on the end of the straw. Then
you blow it up — like bubble gum. It smells funny, sorta like
window cleaner, but you’ll get used to it.” Timmy got blue
bubble stuff and I got green.
“Hey,
look. We can stick our balloons on the glass,” said Timmy.
“Yeah,
they stick.” Timmy and I spent a lot of time making bubbles and
decorating our window.
[The treatment for polio at that time was complete bed
rest with splinting or casting affected limbs in an attempt to
prevent deformity. This practice proved harmful to polio victims
because the immobility caused more muscle atrophy and weakness
than already may have been present. Fortunately, none of my
limbs were splinted.]
[I was spared the suffering that so many children
experienced: severe pain, paralysis and even an inability to
breathe without the assistance of an iron lung. The poliovirus
can paralyze chest muscles that facilitate breathing, including
the diaphragm. I was admitted to the hospital on
Going
Home
When
Daddy came to take me home, I got to ride in a wheelchair to
Daddy’s car. After we got home, Daddy carried me from his car
right to my bed. My room looked sunny and happy to see me. I was
sure happy to see it.
“I got a drinking bird!”
I squealed. “It’s just like Dr. Ben’s. Look he’s dunking his
beak and drinking!”
My bird
looked sorta like a red ostrich with a top hat. He had a long
neck, a round head with a pointy beak, long legs and a fat-round
body with a fluffy feather for his tail. He leaned over and
stuck his beak in a glass of water to get a drink. When he was
finished drinking, his head came up and bobbed back and forth
for a while. Then he’d be real still, ‘til he got thirsty again.
When he started to lean forward, I knew he was gonna get another
drink.
“Mommy,
why is Paul’s teddy bear in my room?”
“The
neighbors gave it to you because they thought it might have
polio germs. Remember you played with it the day before you got
sick?” said Mommy.
“So I
get to keep it?”
“Yes,
he’s yours now.”
I’m
going to make a chocolate malt for you. Would you like that,
Tee? Dr. Ben wants you to drink one every day.”
“Mmm,
yes, please!”
“Now
Tee, Dr. Ben wants you to stay in bed for three weeks,”
cautioned Mommy.
“Okay,
Mommy.”
But I
barely stayed in bed for three days. I didn’t feel sick any
more.
I
appeared to have no ill effects from the polio that struck me
down. Thanks to my progressive thinking pediatrician, Dr.
Rosenow’s vaccine and my parents’ trust in both of them, I could
run, skip and jump as well as any other four-year-old.
When my strength was tested about four years later, I was
told I had left side weakness. Even so, I never noticed it or
felt my left side to be different from my right. However, as an
adult, I began experiencing a lot of muscle pain, which I simply
explained away as too much gardening, an injury, being pregnant
or using a non-supportive chair at work.
In my
mid-twenties, I attributed the spasms in my mid-back to having
been thrown off a horse at age 17 and carrying three babies to
term. My doctor ordered X-rays of my back, but reported he could
see no structural reason for my spasms. I kept raising kids and
singing in a band.
In my
mid-thirties, the muscles in my lower back seemed to lose their
elasticity. When I was bent over, scrubbing a floor or weeding a
flowerbed, I could not straighten into an upright position
without climbing up something, such as a chair or a shovel. When
arising to walk, after sitting for a half-hour or so, I would
remain in a stooped over position for several steps, before I
could stand erect. Nevertheless, I continued my career at the
insurance company, remodeling my house and working in my garden.
In my
early forties, I was in a car accident that caused whiplash and
a strained left shoulder. Although I seemed to recover from
those injuries, a year later I couldn’t lean on the wall across
the tub with my left hand to turn on the shower. I also could
not turn my head without severe pain in my left upper arm,
shoulder and neck. My head tilted toward my left shoulder and my
left shoulder became higher than my right. I suffered for years
with debilitating spasms in my neck, shoulder and upper arm.
After a rough chiropractor brought me to tears adjusting my
neck, I resigned myself to living with the pain, the high
shoulder and the head tilt. Still, I did not give up my
volunteer work. I put my head down and plowed through a sad
divorce from my addicted and fallen knight, raised three
teenagers, and briefly held two jobs to give them a Christmas. I
also found a new career when, instead of a promotion for doing a
great deal of specialized work for my company, my position was
eliminated.
Gradually
I experienced more pain throughout my body and the sensation
that more than just my low back muscles were losing their
elasticity. If I wanted to change positions, my muscles would
only move slowly and grudgingly. I awoke frequently because of
the pain or the effort it took to just turn over. The sleep I
needed to heal became increasingly elusive.
I wrote
about my distressed sleep in 1998.
“When
Sleep Won’t Come”
Another
night in the popcorn popper,
First
on my back, then my right side.
Nope,
try the left.
Neck
stiff as week-old taffy,
I
sample all four pillows available for these special occasions.
None
are right for scalp stretched tight as timpani skin.
For a
change I hear the end of my relaxation tape.
More
covers, less covers.
My
precious Prince Sleep fails me like a hard-to-please lover.
At last
he comes.
I relax
in his arms
For one
brief moment
Before
bird-chirping dawn.
My neck
became so immobile that it was painful to look right and left
when driving. My chronic stiff neck also resulted in
numerous headaches. My downward spiral of chronic pain and
fatigue continued.
In my
mid-forties, I read about a condition called post-polio
syndrome (PPS). PPS attacks people who contracted polio when
they were young, but who had seemingly recovered. Could this be
the name of my condition? I researched symptoms that matched
mine to a great extent. I found a doctor at the Medical College
of Wisconsin who could diagnose PPS. However, since he was not
in my health insurer’s network, I could not afford the
evaluation. My insurance company told me that, if I could get an
in-network neurologist to diagnose PPS, and then refer me to the
The
nature of post-polio syndrome demands that a polio specialist do
the diagnosis, so the likelihood of my getting an accurate
evaluation was not good. As
I feared, the neurologist I saw did not have much knowledge of
PPS. After a painful exam, he deemed that I did not have
PPS, but only that something was wrong with my right
hip because he couldn’t bend my knee up to my chest
and out without my screaming ¾ an
inability I had explained to him prior to his exam. I left his
office crying tears of pain and frustration.
So the
door was closed on my pursuit of a diagnosis at the only medical
facility in my area known to be able to evaluate PPS. Since I
could not prove that I did, indeed, suffer from this syndrome, I
resigned myself to living with my condition and learning, as
best I could, how to treat my symptoms.
After
the punishment of two more corporate down-sizings, I wrote a
cookbook and started my own business, Spice of Life. I taught
healthy cooking to people who had health issues or just wanted
to have a tasty as well as nutritious diet. I loved to cook and
had learned how to eat well by helping members of my family who
had health challenges.
Sadly,
by my mid-fifties, I had to close Spice of Life because I could
no longer work. The pain in my neck, back and legs overwhelmed
me to the point of nausea. I was exhausted from lack of sleep
due to pain. I often experienced, what I called, personal
earthquakes. The room would suddenly spin around me and I’d have
to grab onto something or someone to stay upright. The most
frightening aspect of my symptoms was my diminished brain
function. I couldn’t remember what I did yesterday or ten
minutes ago. I was unable to concentrate, had difficulty
learning tasks and often felt confused and, frankly, stupid.
My
husband, Tom, had to repeatedly teach me the sequence required
to start the lawn tractor. I was ashamed and angry at my
inability to do something so simple and frightened that I might
never get any better. I could no longer understand the two
technical manuals that I’d written, one of which was considered
the book to have in the employee benefits industry. Too
bad my royalties were lost along with my last position.
At age
57, a doctor and a neuromuscular massage therapist diagnosed my
pain, fatigue and brain fog as fibromyalgia. At last my misery
had a name! Fibromyalgia is described as producing
widespread
pain, disturbed sleep, and exhaustion from head to toe.
It causes pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. There is
no cure for fibromyalgia, but there is treatment. I set to work
researching what I could do to feel better.
I was
declared disabled by the Department of Labor, which entitled me
to certain benefits, like job counseling to help me determine my
wage-earning capabilities. After a year of massage therapy, pain
medicine and rest, I was able to return to work. The Department
of Labor bought me a supportive, well-padded and adjustable
chair for my work place. They also came to my office to provide
ergonomics coaching. Although the pain and fatigue have not
left, they are improved and easier to live with.
In my
mid-sixties, as I once again research post-polio syndrome and
record my polio experience, I wonder anew if PPS is the cause of
my muscles going into painful spasm or not contracting
after being stretched. After all, no one has a definitive cause
for fibromyalgia. However, having had polio makes me a PPS
candidate. Dr. E. C. Rosenow, the physician and scientist, who
developed the vaccine that saved me from paralysis and possible
death, also predicted PPS for those who seemed to have
recovered. Like fibromyalgia, doctors are not sure why PPS
exists or how to eliminate it. But if PPS is what I have, I will
once again research what I can do to feel better.
Special
Thank You: I would
like to thank Dr. S. Hale Shakman, Director of the
When I
inquired about getting copies of a few pages from the manual
regarding Dr. Ben, I hoped for a response, but didn’t expect
one. I thought at best I might hear from a librarian who would
simply provide instructions on purchasing the book. Instead, I
got a heart-warming response as well as a copy of the entire
manual, from the author and director of the
Dr.
Shakman said he was sincerely touched to hear from one of the
very polio survivors whose case he had studied. We have
developed an electronic friendship since that time and I am most
grateful that God put Dr. Shakman into my life to enrich and
bless it. Thank you “Dr. Dad.” May God bless your life and gifts
to the world.
Email: mail@instituteofscience.com
