Evans, Nancy J. - Story County

Describe what you remember about the fear surrounding polio epidemics:

I have no memories of my experiences prior to contracting polio at age 4. I lived in upstate New York at the time. I do remember my mother telling me that if we had not come back to Minnesota to visit her relatives that I would not have been exposed to polio. She always felt guilty about that.

Tell us what you remember of the impact of polio:

I contracted polio at age 4 and was hospitalized at Albany Medical Center in upstate New York. My mother wanted to take me to the Mayo Clinic but my family did not have the money to do so. She felt I would get better care there. Again, she felt very guilty about this although I am now aware that my doctor in Albany was one of the leading orthopedists working with polio patients at the time.

I was seriously ill and doctors debated putting me in an iron lung but I gained enough strength that they decided against it. I was later transferred to Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady, NY and spent 9 months there. My first memories are of this hospital and my parents visiting me there. There were many other children recovering from polio there.

Polio resulted in paralysis on my left leg and right foot and weakened muscles in my right leg, back, and stomach. I also have a very bad curvature of my back. Doctors decided against correcting the curvature with a steal rod as they felt it would further compromise my mobility. I wore a short leg brace on my right leg as a child but grew out of it. I have always worn a long leg brace and full spinal brace. I used Canadian crutches. As a young adult I did ok with one crutch but as I got older, I came to need both crutches. As I have gotten older, my energy level and strength have decreased significantly. I can still walk around my home and very short distances but I now use a manual wheelchair at work and most of the time outside my home. It was a major adjustment to move to using the chair as there are many more mobility challenges.

Throughout my childhood I had a number of corrective orthopedic surgeries on my legs and feet and was in and out of the hospital and rehab. I have good memories of caring doctors, nurses, and physical therapists. Because Albany Medical Center was a teaching hospital, there were always lots of interns and residents with my doctor on rounds and "my case" was always explained in detail. It was a bit uncomfortable. My braces were made at Sunnyview; I still remember my orthopedist, Rudy, who was a wonderful man. This brace shop, now in Albany, still repairs and rebuilds my back brace - the same one I have had since I was a teenager.

I was often out of school and tutored at home. I had a great tutor and owe much of my academic success to her. She is still a close friend. (I didn't have many friends in school because I was in and out so much and couldn't do many of the things they could do.) I focused on my academics and I read a lot. We lived on various farms - my father was a tenant farmer - in a very rural area and my schools were small. I was the only one with a disability in my school.

I remember being carried out of the school building during fire drills. I hated that. I also remember being placed in a lower reading group because it met on the first floor. I didn't think that was fair either. A lot of decisions were made for me rather than my having any say in the matter. But because it was a small school, I was treated as an individual and my academic skills were recognized. I was encouraged to go to college, especially by the teacher who served as my tutor in junior high school.

My father died when I was 13 so my mother raised me during my teenage years. She alternated between being overprotective and letting me do what I wanted to do. I was pretty stubborn and usually got my way. I wanted to be "normal" and do everything everyone else did. I even tried cheerleading in junior high school when anyone who wanted to could do it - I wasn't very good but I tried. I played in band and was chosen for all-county band. I was first in my class and gave the valedictorian address at graduation.

My mother did give me strong messages that I would never get married or have children because of my disability. I believed that no one would ever be interested in me because of my physical appearance. I did not date in high school or college and really felt that I was inadequate socially. These ongoing feelings finally led me into therapy during graduate school. I really never dated until I met my future husband when I was in my late 30's. We knew each other for 10 years before we got married. Our marriage has been wonderful. My husband is incredibly supportive and accepting. He is a great ally for people with disabilities - more so than I am at times. His older brother was disabled by birth defects so he has grown up around disability through his life. He sees me as a person first but is always there when I need help and never patronizes me as so many other people have.

I wanted to go to a private college associated with my church, but while they admitted me based on my grades, they discouraged me from attending because of the college's hilly campus. I decided if they didn't want me, I would go somewhere else. I went to a state school in upstate NY. My college was paid for by Voc Rehab. I wanted to be a teacher but the Voc Rehab counselor told me I couldn't do that because I wouldn't be able to stand all day in front of a classroom. I majored in social sciences instead with no idea what I would do. I was very active in college, particularly in the protest movements in the 1960's in support of Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War. I was also a member of a sorority and was elected vice president of student government. I became president when the elected president resigned. I did my best to ignore my disability then and as I moved through life.

After graduating and living at home with my mother for a year because I could not find a job, I decided to go to graduate school to study student affairs administration. I ended up going to a university in the Midwest and drove myself out there. I often drove back and forth between NY and the Midwest during graduate school and after I began my career. I worked for several years and then went on to get a doctorate in counseling psychology. When I applied for doctoral programs, one of my master's professors wrote a recommendation for me that I later accidentally saw. He had written that I would be good at rehabilitation counseling. That was not what I wanted to do and I was offended by his assumption that I could only work with disabled clients. I had trouble finding a position when I finished my doctorate. One school told me they would not hire me because a previous disabled counselor had not worked out. I did finally receive an offer and worked in a college counseling center before deciding that I was more interested in teaching. I first taught as an adjunct and then on a one-year appointment before obtaining a tenure track position. I have had a very successful career as a college professor in the field of student affairs in higher education. I have been a program coordinator at three different universities and was elected president of my national professional association.

During the early part of my career, I ignored my disability and was uncomfortable whenever it was brought up. My energies went into working on behalf of other oppressed groups - women, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people, and members of non-dominant racial and ethnic populations. My research, presentations, and scholarship have focused on these areas - I think because I was unwilling to address my own issues and felt a need to combat the oppression I felt by helping others.

It was a graduate student of mine who was able to finally get me to see that I needed to accept myself as a person with a disability and that I could be a very positive role model and advocate for people with disabilities. He served as the coordinator of disability resources at my university and was an incredible advocate himself. He actions and statements on behalf of people with disabilities showed me that it was critical that I also speak out on these issues. In the last decade or so I have been conducting research and writing and presenting on disability issues. I also speak openly in class about my experiences in hopes of educating my students. I find that I am much more accepting of myself as a result.

Describe the reaction of your family and others you knew to the development of the vaccine:

The vaccine was developed only a few years after I had polio. I always thought it was unfair that my mother still made my get the vaccine even though I had already had the disease.

General Comments:

This is a fascinating project. I wish you great success with it.