The New Polio: What Would Mom and Dad Have Done?
I wish my parents were alive right now. So that I could hear all about the decisions they had to make, the fears they experienced and the trust they had in medical professionals when I was diagnosed at age two, with Poliomyelitis in 1950.
At the time there was no vaccine. The number of cases in Philadelphia that year was the highest in history. There was no explanation as to why I got it but my older brother did not.
I still have memories of lying in a bed in Philadelphia’s Municipal Hospital. My parents were allowed brief visitations over the course of the month I was there. They and my brother were under a semi-quarantine in our home as I lay in that hospital room with as many as four other children who had been diagnosed with the virus.
I vividly recall when they would bring toys with them and stuffed animals. I even remember them waving goodbye to me when their visits would end. And sometimes one or two of the older children in the room would try to get my attention by calling me a “dumb bell”. Chalk it up as my first experience with bullying.
I never got the chance to hear in my parents own words what it was like for them. Looking back on it, I‘m amazed at their ability to live that experience and carry on. They did have a lot in their favor.
They had supportive family members and friends. They trusted their doctors, and above all, they were people of great faith. Thank goodness they did not have the distractions of “dooms day” predictions or prognosis from social media and “talking heads”. Somehow, though, even if they did, Betty and Harry Donahue, would have discreetly dismissed such opinions and stayed the course.
When I left the hospital and returned home, I was visited weekly by a physical therapist who put me thru a rigorous exercise program while I wore a leg brace that weighed one quarter as much as I did.
With the brace removed I did leg pumps on our dining room table trying to restore some muscle mass in my atrophied right calf. With the brace on, the therapist would guide me along a seam in our living room rug trying to maintain balance while walking a straight line. In between visits, my mother would do the same while never displaying a “woe is me” attitude. There wasn’t time for self pity.
Almost two years later, the brace came off. I could almost walk a straight line. My parents knew I’d never be an Olympic sprinter, but that never discouraged them, and in the process, it did not discourage me.
To the contrary, I never heard either of them say “ You can’t do that” or “Why don’t you try something else” whenever I wanted to play stick ball, touch football or basketball with neighborhood friends. They normalized every bit of my life. They refused to over protect me. They were survivors in every way. Children of the depression whose own parents had taken on the loss of jobs and businesses and came out of those tunnels ready for the next challenge.
They had scars and they had fears. But they overcame each and every one in a silent demonstration of hope, trust and love. That is the legacy of Betty and Harry Donahue and the legacy of thousands like them. We can only pray that their response 70 years ago can inspire today’s generation of parents.
So thanks Mom and Dad for what you did. For guiding me through my Polio virus experience. Yes, I wish you were here now to share your wisdom and strength. But though you are certainly missed, I have to believe somewhere there are parents just like you. Similar in their own way at being that guiding light to their children, family and friends.
Your loving son,
Harry Jr.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer: Harry Donahue, A Familiar Voice From Radio, has a Story To Tell: “The New Polio”
Editor’s Note:
We were happy to see that Harry Donohue had shared his story with the Philadelphia Inquirer. As a life long Philadelphia area resident, the first time I saw Harry Donohue on his show “Inside Golf”, I recognized his voice immediately.
A few months later, after discovering that he too was a polio survivor, I had the opportunity to meet him. When I asked if we could publish his story he was reluctant at best. It was early on in our PPSN work, and I had yet to realize just how difficult it could be for polio survivors to share their stories. He chose to do so at a truly historical time in our lives.
Sports enthusiasts from the Philadelphia, PA area and beyond, will find his professional history interesting.
A “Broadcast Pioneer” of Philadelphia, Harry’s moving tribute to his parents is especially timely and we are grateful he has shared it with us, along with so many family photos. “One of Philadelphia's most recognizable voices, Harry first joined KYW News radio as a freelance reporter/anchor in 1974 and since 1979, Harry's been a morning news and sports anchor for the station until his retirement in the summer of 2014”. (1)
“Donahue had big dreams of playing in the Big 5 but soon found the broadcasting route was a better one to pursue. He began working with Temple in 1984, broadcasting Owls football games. In 2002, Donahue became the play-byplay voice of Temple men's basketball.” (1)
“Harry Donahue has been Philadelphia’s morning jolt for over 30 years. Since 1979, he’s helped Philadelphians wake up as the morning anchor for top-rated KYW News Radio.” As a life-long golfer and on-air personality, Donahue brings the perfect combination of links, love and media savvy to “Inside Golf.” (2)(3)
His sports reporting has won him two Pennsylvania Associated Press Awards for his coverage of the Philadelphia Phillies' playoff and World Series victories in 1980. In May 2000, Donahue was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into Temple Basketball’s Ring of Honor in 2020.
Harry is a native Philadelphian who attended St. Joseph's Prep, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and St. Joseph's University.
Sources:
(1) https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/harry-donahue-inducted-into-temple-basketball-ring-of-honor
(2) https://www.broadcastpioneers.com/harrydonahue.html
(3) http://www.insidegolf.net/about-us/
