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Redwood Falls, Minn. —
Ron Kelsey was one of the lucky ones.
When he got polio as a child in about 1945, he was only knocked flat on his back for a few months.
“There were nine of us in the family, and I was the only want to get polio,” he said.
Kelsey grew up on a farm near Lewisville, and myths about polio affected even his play time.
“My mother warned us about playing in certain places on the farm,” he said. “She warned us about playing near the hog shed, or barn. She was afraid we might catch polio from the dirt.
“Polio was a summer disease, and some parents kept their kids inside. They didn’t know what caused it.
“I had a mild case. I didn’t have to go to the Sister Kenny institute. I could recouperate at home, although they quarantined our farm.”
The quarantine meant no one was allowed to visit the farm, and none of Kelsey’s brothers and sisters were allowed to leave.
His parents could leave for work since polio was considered a childhood disease, but that was about it.
Kelsey’s case was mild, and seemed to affect his upper body more than his lower.
“I couldn’t move my head, or my eyes in their sockets,” he said. “I remember finally going into the house and telling my mom I could move my eyes.”
The doctor made house calls, visiting from Madelia.
“The doctor used to come out to our farm. There wasn’t much he could do, except hope it got better,” Kelsey said.
“There was no air conditioning in our house, so they put up a tent outside under the maple trees.”
Kelsey’s father had shown corn at the state fair since 1926, but had to miss it that year — the polio scare was so bad, the state and county fairs were closed.
After decades of thinking he had dodged the polio bullet, Kelsey, who turns 71 this month, finds the aftereffects are finally catching up with him.
The polio effects apparently went away completely. Kelsey was able to return to school, where he encountered several children on crutches who had the disease worse than he had.
For 35 years, Kelsey was an ag teacher at the Lamberton schools, and served as Lamberton’s mayor for about 20 years without any evidence of polio getting in his way.
“Then, about 10 years ago, I learned about post-polio syndrome,” he said. “I was having problems with my legs and feet, and the first doctor I visited didn’t know anything about it.”
Ron Kelsey was one of the lucky ones.
When he got polio as a child in about 1945, he was only knocked flat on his back for a few months.
“There were nine of us in the family, and I was the only want to get polio,” he said.
Kelsey grew up on a farm near Lewisville, and myths about polio affected even his play time.
“My mother warned us about playing in certain places on the farm,” he said. “She warned us about playing near the hog shed, or barn. She was afraid we might catch polio from the dirt.
“Polio was a summer disease, and some parents kept their kids inside. They didn’t know what caused it.
“I had a mild case. I didn’t have to go to the Sister Kenny institute. I could recouperate at home, although they quarantined our farm.”
The quarantine meant no one was allowed to visit the farm, and none of Kelsey’s brothers and sisters were allowed to leave.
His parents could leave for work since polio was considered a childhood disease, but that was about it.
Kelsey’s case was mild, and seemed to affect his upper body more than his lower.
“I couldn’t move my head, or my eyes in their sockets,” he said. “I remember finally going into the house and telling my mom I could move my eyes.”
The doctor made house calls, visiting from Madelia.
“The doctor used to come out to our farm. There wasn’t much he could do, except hope it got better,” Kelsey said.
“There was no air conditioning in our house, so they put up a tent outside under the maple trees.”
Kelsey’s father had shown corn at the state fair since 1926, but had to miss it that year — the polio scare was so bad, the state and county fairs were closed.
After decades of thinking he had dodged the polio bullet, Kelsey, who turns 71 this month, finds the aftereffects are finally catching up with him.
The polio effects apparently went away completely. Kelsey was able to return to school, where he encountered several children on crutches who had the disease worse than he had.
For 35 years, Kelsey was an ag teacher at the Lamberton schools, and served as Lamberton’s mayor for about 20 years without any evidence of polio getting in his way.
“Then, about 10 years ago, I learned about post-polio syndrome,” he said. “I was having problems with my legs and feet, and the first doctor I visited didn’t know anything about it.”
At the time, post-polio syndrome was a fairly new concept, in part because survivors of childhood polio had never lived long enough for it to manifest itself.
“I went to a specialist who confirmed it was post-polio syndrome. She recommended exercise, but not too much since that could damage the affected muscles.”
Kelsey also takes multi-vitamins to help stabilize the effects.
Post-polio syndrome doesn’t always affect the muscles that were affected by the disease itself.
“Other muscles had to work harder to compensate,” Kelsey explains.
Today, there may be many post-polio syndrome sufferers who still have no idea what is affecting them now.
“One of the problems is that it’s been so long since children had polio, (if you’re feeling the symptoms) no one’s going to contact you to tell you what’s happening,” said Kelsey. “You have to do research, and contact the doctors.”
