Do You Know Someone Who Had Polio in Washtenaw County?

Reading some old papers about polio in the county. For some reason I never thought of polio striking here. My dad had it in Baltimore in his childhood. "Polio victims rise to 60," notes the December 6, 1950 Ypsilanti Daily Press. "The number of Washtenaw County's polio victims rose to 60 this week when two sisters, Elizabeth and Celia Ledwidge of 5780 Joy Rd., Dexter, were stricken. Elizabeth, 12, is a seventh grader and Celia, 18, is a 1950 graduate of Dexter High School and has been employed in a business office in Ann Arbor." Poor girls!One just 12 years old and the other just starting her career.

"The 18-year-old was stricken by the bulbar type of polio and is in "fair condition, with chest complications," says the paper. Wikipedia notes, "Spinal polio is the most common form, characterized by asymmetric paralysis that most often involves the legs. Bulbar polio leads to weakness of muscles innervated by cranial nerves. Bulbospinal polio is a combination of bulbar and spinal paralysis."

There was also activity at U-M concerning the vaccine which I have yet to fully research. Those were scary times. At the same time in 1950, Ypsilanti was undergoing a strange blood-typing program, involving dog tags, in case of an atom-bomb strike. The idea was to find out everyone's blood type (apparently previously not recorded) so as to have a "walking blood bank" on hand in case of emergency. People were to be issued dog tags with their blood type. Weird and scary bits of local medical history.

If you know someone who suffered from polio in the county, I would love to hear their thoughts here or contact them. Thanks.