Thursday, August 3, 2000

Polio can rear its head again

To learn more For information about the support group or DeVore's book, call 888-4458. For information about the syndrome log onto www.post-polio.org or www.prys.net

Donald R. "Speck" DeVore couldn't believe what doctors were telling him.
   It was 1984 and the Midland native, who contracted polio at age 9 and spent the next four years undergoing corrective surgery and rehabilitation, once again was hearing the word "polio."
   This time, the diagnosis wasn't polio, rather post-polio syndrome, or PPS, which causes joint pain, muscle weakness and decreased endurance in some polio survivors decades after their bout with the disease.
   "I was told I had the legs of a 65-year-old," recalled DeVore, who was 45 at the time. "I couldn't believe it. I could climb stairs and lift weights. In my mind, I was just as strong and well as when I was 19 years old."
   Five years later, reality hit hard.
   "All of a sudden I noticed I couldn't dance a whole song anymore," he said. "And each year since then it's gotten progressively worse."
   These days, DeVore, a 61-year-old retired computer specialist, is matter-of-fact about the road ahead.
   He predicts that by next year he'll need a cane or a crutch to walk. In a couple of years, that likely will give way to a motorized scooter. But he is also a man on a mission.
   DeVore, who was in town last week signing copies of "Speck," his book detailing his childhood battle, now is helping Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital in Corpus Christi establish a post-polio syndrome support group.
   "Discussions just started six weeks ago and since then it's been a flurry of planning," said Linda Simpson, administrator of the local rehab hospital.
   The facility sponsors two other groups - the Brain Injury Association and the Corpus Christi Stroke Club. It launches its newest support group in September, with DeVore tentatively scheduled as the first guest speaker.
   "You cannot have pity parties," DeVore said of the support group's mission. "I want to figure out what positive things we can do, how we can help each other fight this thing."
   The group's main emphasis will be to provide educational, social and spiritual support, Simpson said.
   Although not all polio survivors develop PPS, "a significant percentage of polio survivors relapse into partial or more severe paralysis," Simpson noted.
  
  
 

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