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Having polio at the age of 20 | 0:00:09 | 0:00:11 | |
put the rest of my life into perspective. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:15 | |
When my parents came to know that I had polio, | 0:00:17 | 0:00:21 | |
they were really devastated. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
It was a very sad thing, | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
that a healthy six-year-old should suddenly find himself unable to walk | 0:00:27 | 0:00:31 | |
properly without the aid of callipers. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:35 | |
That is a very sad thing. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:36 | |
In the early 1900s, a terrifying disease swept around the world. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:43 | |
It struck fear into the hearts of parents. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:45 | |
No-one knew for certain how it was caught. | 0:00:45 | 0:00:48 | |
But what people did know was that once you got it, | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
it would be with you for life. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
They called it infantile paralysis - what we now know as polio. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:58 | |
It really was a devastating illness. | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
My own mum's family was almost wiped out from the disease | 0:01:03 | 0:01:07 | |
back in the 1950s. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:08 | |
Thankfully, today, it's almost been eradicated from the planet. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:12 | |
But it still hasn't quite been consigned to history. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
In Britain alone there are 120,000 people | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
living with the lifelong effects | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
of the illness, and the British Polio Fellowship, | 0:01:20 | 0:01:23 | |
nearly 80 years after it was founded, | 0:01:23 | 0:01:25 | |
is still helping those living with the consequences of this disease. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:29 | |
I'd always wanted to work with tiny babies and I was responsible for | 0:01:32 | 0:01:37 | |
the baby nursery. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:38 | |
Barbara is 86. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:42 | |
When she was 20, she contracted polio while working as a nurse at | 0:01:42 | 0:01:45 | |
a children's hospital in Birmingham. | 0:01:45 | 0:01:47 | |
I went home quite normally, | 0:01:48 | 0:01:50 | |
woke up the next morning with a completely rigid neck. | 0:01:50 | 0:01:53 | |
I couldn't move it. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:54 | |
And I said to my mum, "It's no good me going to work, | 0:01:55 | 0:01:59 | |
"I can't feed the babies." | 0:01:59 | 0:02:00 | |
So she said, "Well, you've got to see the doctor." | 0:02:02 | 0:02:05 | |
So the doctor came in and he told me I'd got rheumatism. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
I knew what I'd got. | 0:02:09 | 0:02:11 | |
I knew all the symptoms. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:13 | |
I spent the next seven months in hospital, flat on my back. | 0:02:14 | 0:02:18 | |
This was a difficult time. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
It dawned on me that I might not walk again. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:25 | |
It did mean I had to rethink what I was going to do with the rest of | 0:02:26 | 0:02:30 | |
my life. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:31 | |
In spite of the devastating blow of her diagnosis, | 0:02:32 | 0:02:36 | |
Barbara remained positive and wanted to live a full and happy life. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:39 | |
She trained as a speech therapist, went on to meet her husband, Derek, | 0:02:39 | 0:02:43 | |
and later had two children. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:45 | |
When you have some sort of physical problem, | 0:02:46 | 0:02:51 | |
you kind of don't think that you will ever get married | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
or have children. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:55 | |
But I don't think I ever gave up. | 0:02:57 | 0:02:59 | |
And I wasn't going to let the polio virus beat me. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:03 | |
I didn't have any problems after I'd recovered | 0:03:05 | 0:03:09 | |
and got used to my physical limitations until I was 48, | 0:03:09 | 0:03:14 | |
when my shoulder locked and I couldn't move it. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
So I was really in a mess. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:23 | |
It was believed Barbara had developed post-polio syndrome, | 0:03:23 | 0:03:27 | |
which is thought to affect 80% of survivors years after recovery, | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
causing severe fatigue and muscle weakness. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:33 | |
I knew what I'd got was reducing my mobility and was affecting my arms. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:42 | |
Polio is the shadow that is there | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
and then you realise it's done its dirty work. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
The virus is still having aftereffects on all those people who | 0:03:47 | 0:03:54 | |
had it when they were very young. | 0:03:54 | 0:03:56 | |
I am lucky, because my GP is very interested. | 0:03:56 | 0:04:01 | |
He wants to ensure that the future GPs are aware of the syndrome. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:08 | |
For survivors of polio, | 0:04:09 | 0:04:10 | |
the onset of PPS in their later years can be very hard to deal with, | 0:04:10 | 0:04:15 | |
which is why people like Barbara, | 0:04:15 | 0:04:16 | |
working alongside the British Polio Fellowship, | 0:04:16 | 0:04:20 | |
are doing what they can to boost awareness. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
But there is a common misconception - because polio is now preventable | 0:04:22 | 0:04:27 | |
it's an illness that only the elderly have to deal with. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
Manaj is in his early 40s. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:34 | |
He contracted polio aged two | 0:04:34 | 0:04:36 | |
while living abroad, and although he faced the inevitable challenges | 0:04:36 | 0:04:40 | |
of the disease, his parents were forced to face | 0:04:40 | 0:04:42 | |
a challenge of their own. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:44 | |
My parents faced a lot of discrimination. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
I think they really worried about | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
how I'm going to live my life and how | 0:04:52 | 0:04:55 | |
I'm going to be independent in this world. | 0:04:55 | 0:04:58 | |
My dad used to say, education is what you need to focus on, | 0:04:58 | 0:05:01 | |
that will make your life better. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:03 | |
I can now think about how much suffering he went through | 0:05:03 | 0:05:09 | |
when he was with my disability. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
I came to UK in 2001. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
I was struggling to meet people and get a network of friends. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:20 | |
Then I came across the British Polio Fellowship. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
They connected me to the local group, friendly environment, | 0:05:23 | 0:05:26 | |
where I could talk to them with confidence. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
They started to help me out and give me guidance, | 0:05:29 | 0:05:33 | |
and they have got some interesting projects, like sport. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:37 | |
Meeting other people has given me a lot of confidence to start my life | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
over here. | 0:05:40 | 0:05:41 | |
The British Polio Fellowship offer practical support, benefits advice. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:47 | |
We offer welfare grants, | 0:05:47 | 0:05:49 | |
we offer information on how to get a diagnosis of post-polio syndrome. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
PHONE RINGS | 0:05:53 | 0:05:54 | |
Good afternoon, you're through to the British Polio Fellowship. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
How can I help? | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
We also want to become much more proactive in the future | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
with being able to go out and help people within the community. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:07 | |
Our members can often feel like they're forgotten | 0:06:07 | 0:06:09 | |
and that there is little known about the condition any more. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:13 | |
We are here to support them with what they face in life. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
As well as their support services, the charity hosts annual games, | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
where members from local groups around the UK come together, | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
not only to compete, | 0:06:25 | 0:06:27 | |
but to socialise with people who share in their experiences. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
Bobby is one such person. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:33 | |
He's been a member of the Fellowship for most of his life, | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
after contracting polio aged six. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:38 | |
The effects of polio are quite dramatic in one way, | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
in that it slowed me down to a considerable degree. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
You have difficulty staying on your feet. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
I kept thinking, "I'm going to get better." | 0:06:48 | 0:06:50 | |
It didn't really happen that way. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
Polio is an illness that can isolate you, in a way. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
Being part of the BPF means that you meet up with others in a similar | 0:06:57 | 0:07:02 | |
situation to yourself, | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
lets you see you're not alone. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:05 | |
Having these regular meet-ups so often means that people are able to | 0:07:06 | 0:07:11 | |
socialise with those in a more or less similar condition | 0:07:11 | 0:07:13 | |
to what they're in. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:15 | |
It lets them have conversations and music and enjoyment of others, | 0:07:17 | 0:07:23 | |
that maybe sitting in the house watching TV you wouldn't get. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:26 | |
I welcome everyone for coming along tonight, good to see you all. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
Enjoy the rest of the night. No fighting, please, over the game. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:33 | |
I really enjoy meeting up with the Polio Fellowship globally. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
The camaraderie is great, the craic is excellent. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:42 | |
They are very important in my life. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
Like Barbara, Manaj and Bobby, | 0:07:45 | 0:07:47 | |
whose lives were tragically changed by the disease, | 0:07:47 | 0:07:50 | |
polio continues to affect the lives of thousands of others in the UK. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:55 | |
The charity is invaluable in a world where people think polio is a thing | 0:07:55 | 0:08:00 | |
of the past. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:01 | |
British Polio Fellowship connected me to people who have been | 0:08:01 | 0:08:05 | |
through what I've been through. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:07 | |
They provide me with invaluable information. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:09 | |
With your help, the British Polio Fellowship | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
can continue to bring people together, to offer support, | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
and ultimately to make them feel that they are not alone. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
Please, if you can, donate now. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:23 | |
To give by phone, call... | 0:08:26 | 0:08:27 | |
Calls are free from mobiles and landlines. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
Texts cost £10, plus your standard network message charge, | 0:08:36 | 0:08:41 | |
and the whole £10 goes to the British Polio Fellowship. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:44 | |
For full terms and conditions, or to make a donation online, | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
visit the Lifeline website. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:49 | |
Or if you'd like to post a donation, | 0:08:53 | 0:08:54 | |
please make your cheque payable to the British Polio Fellowship | 0:08:54 | 0:08:58 | |
and send it to Freepost, BBC Lifeline Appeal - | 0:08:58 | 0:09:01 | |
writing "the British Polio Fellowship" | 0:09:01 | 0:09:03 | |
on the back of the envelope. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
Thank you. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:07 |