But about 15 years ago, physician-researchers discovered that the disease can come back to haunt those who thought they'd won the war. Survivors who thought they were stable suddenly found that their functional abilities were diminishing. Normal daily activities such as bending, standing for any length of time, walking, climbing stairs, sleeping, swallowing, and even dressing were more difficult. As a result, they were forced to use braces, canes, crutches, wheelchairs, or breathing aids. PPS appears to strike polio survivors anywhere between 10 and 50 years after recovery from the initial attack.
Some patients experience only minor symptoms, while others have developed spinal muscular atrophy.
Few, however, are willing to talk openly about their struggles for fear of reliving the stigma associated with being crippled, a burden many found as painful as the disease itself. But he manages to keep active, communicating with friends and colleagues the world over via one of his six computers. It's particularly hard when you're still feeling young. So far, some 450,000 Americans have already reported the newfound aftereffects of polio. Md. Determining who is at risk has been just as difficult.