Peggy Tingle with Neal Beard (left) and Keith Rohling, president-elect of the Lawrenceburg Rotary Club.
By Neal Beard, a member of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, USA
“I was 18 when I contracted the disease,” Peggy said, as she spoke into a lowered, stationary microphone set up at the front of our meeting room. She spoke from a motorized wheelchair, reading from her notes.
Peggy was the guest speaker at our club meeting recently, and her story underscored for me why we need to remain committed to eradicating this terrible disease of polio. Statistics are one thing, but when you hear someone’s story who has battled the disease, it takes your emotional resolve to a completely different level.
“I had been married for three years and had a one-year-old daughter when I contracted polio,” Peggy continued.
“One evening my husband and a couple of friends went on a night fishing trip. We girls decided our treat would be to go out and eat burgers and shakes and smoke a cigarette. This was during the ‘50’s…The next morning I woke up very nauseated with a severe headache that quickly got worse. The next day my neck was stiff and very painful. My husband carried me …read more
Source:: Rotary International Blog
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