Nagel, Janet - Scott County
General Comments :
My late husband, Sam Nagel, had polio when he was an infant in
Stockton, Iowa in 1937. His mother and father didn't know when he
contracted the disease and only realized it when the muscles of
one leg did not fully develop.
Because the Achilles tendon of the affected foot contracted,
making one leg shorter than the other, Sam walked with a limp. He
had surgery on his affected foot to lengthen the Achilles tendon
at the University Hospital in Iowa City when he was junior high
age. Unfortunately, the foot became infected and gangrenous
beneath the cast. Somehow the problem was not realized until the
gangrene had become severe, and the foot tissue had to be
debrided and the foot bones fused. The irony was that the surgery
meant to eliminate his limp had worsened his problem, as the limp
remained with the added complication that his affected foot was
essentially skin over bone with no fat or muscle to pad it. He
spent four and a half months at the Iowa University hospital,
which was very hard on him and his whole family and then had to
have a second surgery.
His life was affected by polio and the continuing problems caused
by the disease. He always had to wear a shoe with a built-up heel
but still limped. He was not able to play sports, which was a
great disappointment to him, as he was very athletic but wasn't
able to run fast enough to be effective. When he went to college,
he wanted to become a forester but was told by his doctor that he
could not, because of the pressure that would be put on his foot
by all the walking and hiking in rough terrain. However, he
ignored that advice and graduated from Iowa State University in
forestry. He had a thirty-six year career with the US Forest
Service and loved it, although he did have pain because of his
debrided foot. He never gave in to it or complained but did tell
me once that he had never taken a step that had not hurt him.
Sam developed diabetes when he was forty-five years old and was
told by his doctors that his affected foot would probably have to
be amputated within fifteen years. However, he died suddenly when
he was fifty-eight years old. The shock and grief of his death
was tempered a bit for me by the realization that he would not
have had a good old age. Looking back now at his symptoms, I feel
sure that he had post-polio syndrome, which, added to the other
problems, would have made his life miserable.
My husband was fortunate to survive polio and create a good life
for himself, although his choice of career exacted a high price
in discomfort. Had the polio vaccine been in existence before his
birth, he would have been spared much suffering. Dr. Salk is a
true hero; his vaccine has been a huge benefit to humanity.
Janet Nagel, formerly of Scott County
