Author: David Talbot
Alternate names: David Talbot Steve Baroch
Bio: On April 12, 1955, news told of a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk that was successful in preventing polio! Three weeks later to the day, little Davie Talbot took ill, and the next day his mom took him to see the doctor.  “Just the flu” was the diagnosis. Three days later Davie's folks carried his rigid body out to their car and down to Children’s Hospital in Denver, CO. It was not the “flu”, it was POLIO! Life changed for Davie Talbot. Having survived the initial disease, David went from wheelchair to braces on both legs with crutches, then just braces and on to just ugly shoes. Several surgeries during his growing years helped to stabilize his polio-affected left leg from injuries and controlled his growth so as to minimize his limp while walking and running.

Talbot recovered enough that he was active in sports through middle school, high school and college. During a “gap” year between his sophomore and junior years of college, Talbot spent a year traveling in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, a lot of the miles on a bicycle. Once back in the States and back in school, Talbot met and married Candice, his wife of 39 years. They moved to Mankato, MN, where Talbot received a Bachelor degree and a Dental Hygiene certificate. Opportunities saw the Talbots work in many varied environments including a kibbutz in Israel. After returning to the US, the Talbots developed their love of photography into a full-time photo and video business that took them to four continents on a variety of assignments.

Then in 2005, while working with a non-profit organization assisting widows and orphans, David saw a woman who’s right leg was twisted up behind her back, her foot touching her shoulder. She was using a freshly-torn branch from a tree as a crutch. “That opened my eyes to see the people on the ground, trying to move about with great difficulty, in their environment” said Talbot. From there, inspiration took over. Rudimentary plans were soon made to collect surplus and no-longer-needed crutches in the US, ship them to Africa, and distribute them there to people in desperate need. In 2020, he co-authored *The Window Seat*, a fundraiser for Crutches4Africa.com, with Steve Baroch.

Source: [Crutches 4 Africa](https://www.crutches4africa.org/about-us.html)