A WOMBWELL man who was diagnosed with polio years before the NHS was founded believes he could be one of the oldest polio survivors.
Malcolm Wallace, 83, of Low Laithes View, was diagnosed when he was two and spent a year in the Royal Infirmary in Sheffield.
He has worn a calliper on his leg ever since.
Polio is a serious viral infection that used to be common in the UK and worldwide. It’s rare nowadays because it can be prevented with vaccination. Cases of polio in the UK fell dramatically when routine vaccination was introduced in the mid-1950s.
There hasn’t been a case of polio caught in the UK since the mid-90s. But the infection is still found in some parts of the world, and there remains a very small risk it could be brought back to the UK.
Despite his diagnosis, Malcolm managed to live a relatively normal life, attending Barnsley Road Infant School and Wombwell Modern School before working in the offices at Hey and Murfin on Summer Lane for 35 years.
He married his wife Julie, 65, in 1975 and had two children, Chelsea and Mark. Mark died in a road accident in 2004.
Malcolm said: “I was two when I got polio, which would have been 1936, and of course the NHS wasn’t formed until 1948. I was a patient in 1948, one of the first ones. The 70th anniversary of the NHS got me thinking about this.
“I was in hospital for a year after polio was diagnosed. In those days, it was referred to as infantile paralysis.
“I’ve had a full length calliper on for 81 years and I can’t walk without it.
“I would think that I am one of the oldest polio survivors.”
When he was 12, Malcolm had an operation to straighten his foot, and said there were none of today’s painkillers around to help dull the pain. Now when he goes to the hospital, he said staff have heard of polio but some have never met anyone who has had the illness.
Malcolm is a lifelong member of the British Polio Fellowship. He has suffered from Post Polio Syndrome since the 1980s, and in 1997 he fell and broke his hip.
He says his good leg is now getting weaker because it is compensating for his paralysed leg.
Post Polio Syndrome is a condition which can affect people who have had polio in the past. Symptoms can develop over time, and can include extreme tiredness, muscle weakness and pain, joint pain and sleep apnoea.
He said: “I was amazed to learn there are 120,000 people suffering from PPS. It affects the quadriceps in my good left leg, and it’s getting worse. I used to walk without sticks at all, but I have two arm crutches when I go out, because I’m frightened of falling over. Touch wood, I haven’t fallen again.
“I’ve had quite a normal life up to this PPS starting. This calliper has kept me going, and it’s a lot better now because it bends at the knee.”
