It's a well known fact that FDR had polio, but he used his polio is some very interesting ways. FDR first contracted polio while on vacation at Compobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. While on a yacht, Roosevelt fell into the water. Each progressing day after falling into the water, FDR felt weaker and weaker in his legs, until, three days later, he was not able to bear his weight on his legs. Eleanor Roosevelt contacted many doctors, and on August 25th, 1921, Dr. Robert Lovett diagnosed FDR with polio at the age of 39.
After contracting polio, FDR used swimming to regain the strength in his upper body,. He was also given leg braces to be able to stand, and made it a goal to be able to walk down the entire length of his quarter mile long driveway, although he was never able to do so. FDR also involve his family and friends in his exercises to have as company and as "good cheer".
Throughout his presidency, FDR wanted to make the public see that he was "getting better". He found a way to look like he was able to walk by locking his knees and swaying his hips back and forth to give the illusion that he was able to walk. This maneuver can be seen in the first few seconds of the video here:
After contracting polio, FDR used swimming to regain the strength in his upper body,. He was also given leg braces to be able to stand, and made it a goal to be able to walk down the entire length of his quarter mile long driveway, although he was never able to do so. FDR also involve his family and friends in his exercises to have as company and as "good cheer".
Throughout his presidency, FDR wanted to make the public see that he was "getting better". He found a way to look like he was able to walk by locking his knees and swaying his hips back and forth to give the illusion that he was able to walk. This maneuver can be seen in the first few seconds of the video here:
He would have to use this maneuver whenever have gave speeches and had to walk to the podium, but for the most part, he would stay in his wheelchair. His wheelchair was literally a modified desk chair with four wheels seen here:
In 1926, FDR purchased a resort in Warm Springs, Georgia and turned it into a treatment center for polio patients. This center still exists today and is called the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation.
Thanks Alex for the breakdown of FDR's polio! It helps us understand the factors that affected FDR's presidency. Not being able to walk is clearly an obstacle because it prevented him from traveling a lot, an important part of staying connected with the people. However FDR turned the illness around, and instead used it as an advantage. By showing people that he was overcoming his disease, as you said above, he was proving himself to be resilient to the people, someone who could overcome any challenge. This must have gained him a lot of support, because who wouldn’t want a president who could conquer any task, no matter how large of an obstacle. He also found other ways to communicate with the people, continuing his radio broadcasts, and having his wife, Eleanor serve as his “eyes and ears” as Kimberly said in her blog post about Eleanor Roosevelt. By learning about Franklin’s illness and the way he presented it to the public, we are able to see his true genius, for few people would think to use paralyzation as a symbol of strength.
ReplyDeletesources: http://www.wbur.org/npr/247155522/roosevelts-polio-wasn-t-a-secret-he-used-it-to-his-advantage?ft=3
Thanks for this post on Polio Alex! I thought you gave a really clear and comprehensive explanation on what FDR went through. I was curious what other presidents had been in office with disabilities or illnesses, and found a whole list. The presidents I found most interesting were the ones we had already learned about because despite learning about their presidency, I did not know that they had suffered from an illness/disorder. It is believed that Abraham Lincoln suffered from severe suicidal depression and possibly Marfan syndrome due to his unusual appearance. James Madison's doctors diagnosed him with epilepsy after he experienced seizures that left him momentarily immobilized. And of course, we have all heard of the stroke that President Woodrow Wilson suffered towards the end of his term. Many more presidents had learning disabilities and visual or hearing impairments. If you're interested, you can find the complete list I found here: http://www.lincinc.org/disability-in-history-u-s-presidents/
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to know how these other presidents were able to cope with their disabilities similar to the way Alex explained how FDR was able to fool the American public that he was getting better if anyone is willing to do the research!
Forgot to list my source. Here it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/aboutfdr/polio.html
Cool how he had such a serious disease but was still able to lead the country! It also took a toll on his family life, since his kids felt so bad having to see their dad go through this illness. He tried to do his rehabilitation exercises with the kids and eventually they learned to ignore his disability. This greatly improved FDR's own acceptance of his disease, and Eleanor said, “The perfect naturalness with which the children accepted his limitations though they had always known him as an active person, helped him tremendously in his own acceptance of them”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/aboutfdr/polio.html
^ just an expansion on what you already said about his routines/family life
ReplyDeleteI think this post brought up another excellent side of FDR that much of the time gets ignored when we talk about presidents: something outside of the strict political realm. It is interesting to think about how much this affected his personal life, and from it we gain much more respect for his very successful political career. One interesting thing that I saw that was interesting was that FDR actually designed his own custom cars that could actually operate using hands alone. This allowed him the autonomy to drive, while showing his ability to craft a life, and a very successful one at that even with his disability. It is interesting also that he was the first to have his own vanity plates which said FDR1 and LCNS2ROM.
ReplyDeletemore info: http://www.lcns2rom.com/
It's incredible how even when he contracted such a crippling disability, he still fought through it and acted like it was no big deal. He even started his own personal polio crusade. On January 3, 1938, Roosevelt created the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, but today it's known as the March of Dimes Foundation. He also started many fundraisers and used his own birthday parties to raise money to fight polio. It just goes to show what a strong and positive personality he had and it was lucky that our country had someone like him to pull people out of the Great Depression. He was definitely the right man for the job!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.history.com/news/franklin-roosevelts-personal-polio-crusade-75-years-ago