Post-polio syndrome afflicts many who thought they’d left disease behind

In 1950, when he was 31⁄2 years old, Rick Kneeshaw contracted polio.

Within days, the healthy toddler was crippled, paralysis quickly numbing and immobilizing his left leg, hip and parts of his back. Over the next 12 years, Kneeshaw would endure many operations, each attempting to restore at least partial muscle and nerve function. Between surgeries, Kneeshaw would spend hours in physical therapy, going and growing through countless braces, crutches and other supports.

“By the time I was 16, I figure I’d spent a quarter of my life in hospitals,” he said.

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