I remember iron lungs. I had a co-worker who was in an iron lung for a while. She still walked with a noticeable limp other than that she was fine.

I knew a guy who had polio. He was stuck in a wheelchair and had to frog-breathe until the day he died. Other than that he was fine.

As far as you know

The iron lung sounds horrific enough!!

I went to school with a kid who contracted polio (his parents didn't believe in vaccines). He had braces on both legs and walked with those crutches that attach to yourforearms.

Oh they did. But Thalidomide babies were born missing limbs. It wasn't used all that much in the states, but the medication was given to a lot of pregnant women to help with morning sickness in Europe.

It was never approved for use in the US, thanks to the FDA and specifically one FDA reviewer who resisted pressure from the manufacturer and denied approval. Unfortunately a smell number of babies were born in the US with thalidomide exposure from clinical trials but very very few compared to Europe

Wow. Fascinating. Sounds like it injured some in NewZealand; fascinating to hear that the USA hadn't approved it yet NZ allowed. I always thought of our health system as highest standard, but I guess not always!

Yes heard about that since young. Ironically given this conversation it put someone I know off doctors (when combined with other poor experiences) and, more importantly, vaccines