The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-06-05
"TUN TO GO AROUND
LIKE OTHER KIDS"
Little Vermont Girl Victim of lnfan.
tile Paralysis Had Never Walked
Before Operation

| OliNEl tlit lEGllOli VI LIE vermont
State Board of Health the seventh
year Of work in the prevention and af,
Iter-care Of the disease known as pol.
Iiomyelitis, sometimes called infantile
paralysis, is just getting under way.
During the month of May, clinics have
been held in some Of the leading cities
throughout the State by Miss Bertha
r. Wesbrod who has been for the last
year in charge of the after-care work
in poliomyllitis in Vermont. Miss
Weisbrod was assisted by Miss Mar
Ijorie Hlckok, who joined the depart
ment the first of May.
! 1t was the purpose or these clinics
to reach the patients who had already
Ibeen treated during the last year or
two, to see how they were getting
along, and also to give any patients
who have not received treatment an
opportunity to be treated The elm.
les were held in Burlington Rutland.
Montpelier, ST. Johnsbury, Barton and
ISt. Adams. The attendance at the
clinics was gratifying to the workers,
who feel that the people of the State
are gaining confidence in this work
and are more willing to make use Of
1.-THE help which the State is trying to
lglye them
Very little can be done in this work
during the winter, because it is so
! hard for the people to get to the
clinics. But the patients are given
instructions to follow and many, with
the help Of their relatives and friends,
are able to improve greatly by follow.
ing these instructions. Then, when
they come to the clinics in the sum
lmer, they are examined and given fur.
Their aid and advice.
Sometime during the summer fur.
Their clinics will be held at which
specialist in poliomyelitis, DR.. Frank
0ber Of Boston, will be present and as
sist in tho work. DR.. Ober Is the man
who performed most of the operations
last summer upon Vermont children
who were afflicted with poliomyelitis.
and these operations have all proved
highly successful. 1t is expected that
Dr. 0ber will be in the state for clint
les during the latter part Of July or
the early part of August When he
comes. due notice will he given to all
patients so that they will have the op
lportunlty to see him Or Robert w.
Lovett also a polio expert from Bos-
ton, who has been coming to Vermont
in connection with this work ever
since II was started In the State, will
| not be able to COME here this sum
mer Dr. Ober is his associate in the
work
The clinics held In the various parts
of the State during the month OF May
were most interesting. as well as bene
fetal Parents and guardians we're in,
strueted and advised how to take care
of the children crippled with poliomy-
! Hits that the children might grow
up as strong and as straight, as use
full and as happy as possible The pa
tents who came, however were not all
children, for there was large per
oentage over II years of age.
To one attending these clinics for
the first time ii might seem remark
able that patient who looked much
encountered by two braces, and was
obliged to use crutches in order to
walk looked like one of the happiest
persons in the world. But possibly
that child was one who could not
walk at all last year, and had not
walked for three or four years until
operated upon and given braces and
crutChes.
six Vermont children were aken out
of wheel chairs this last year by hay
ing their crooked limbs operated up
on, braces fitted to them to make them
stable. and given crutches. If one has
not walked for years, or has never
walked, It Is quite JOY to get aout.
even with braces and Crutches. though
It may seem poor way TO those who
have never had to sit all day lin chair
or crawl on hands and knees
one little lady of five years, who had
never walked until this spring, but
who after some months I'm Boston last
winter, is gradually learning how TO
walk remarked that its fun to get
around like the other kids
Another kind of operation that has
been Of wonderful benefit especially
TO deformed feet, is the transportation
of tendons of good muscles to help
take the place of paralyzed ones. Mus
cles are very much like rubber at a
tension-if no muscles are paralyzed,
the balance of pull around q joint is
equal If, however, as is so often the
case in poliomyitis, the muscles on
one side of the foot are paralyzed
and those on the other strong, the foot
is pulled toward the side of the good
muscle, and the child walks either on
the insie Of the ankle or outside, de
pending on which side the paralysis
has occurred. A foot of this sort, es
pecially as the child grows up, is not
only handicap and ugly but is very
uncomfortable.
Quite a number OF patients at these
clinics were ones on whom this ten
don transportation operation has
been done, and the excellent results
proved that the operations were worti
while, When the paralysis has beer
so severe that there are not enough
muscles left to hold the bones II
place, then It is necessary to use brace
in order that the child's bones ma!
grow as normally as possible. II
child is allowed to grow up CROOKED
in body IL will be as difficult to maxi
him straight as in the case of a larg,
tree that has been twisted and ben
when It was little.
More encouraging, however, thar
even the interesting and successful
4 IoperatiOns were the results shown Il