23rd April 1997

A Piece of History that hasn't been told

Owen Roizman can look back on a distinguished life of achievement behind the cinema camera lens. The five-time Academy Award-nominated Cinematographer's credits include "The French Connection," "The Exorcist," "Network," "Tootsie," "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," "Grand Canyon," "Wyatt Earp" and most recently, "French Kiss". Today, he is virtually retired from cinematography due to health reasons - the polio he suffered at age 13 in the epidemic of 1949 weakened his right leg, and post-polio syndrome is weakening it further. He keeps busy as president of the American Society of Cinematographers and works on various projects, one of which he is particularly excited about. He has teamed up with Ray Sipherd, Emmy-award winning writer for TV's "Sesame Street" from 1968 to 1985, to plan a feature movie. The two of them spent months together at a rehabilitation hospital for polio victims in 1949 and that experience is the inspiration for the film. For Roizman it is a piece of history that hasn't been told.

Source article "Starring Role In a Big Year / Lier is honoured for years behind the camera"
by Carol Polsky, Staff Writer, Newsday 21st April 1997

Thanks to Bob Mauro of The PeopleNet DisAbility DateNet Home Page
for highlighting the original article via the Polio-Life Mailing List

9th April 1997

Post-Polio Soap?

An Australian soap opera called A Country Practice would appear to be one of the first of its kind to develop a Post-Polio Syndrome story line! I won't give any more details as broadcast schedules may vary between countries. Any future reports on the plot development will be on a special page with appropriate spoiler warnings. Unfortunately, in the UK the series is only broadcast in two of the fifteen Independent Television regions. It can be seen at 12.55 pm lunchtime Mondays to Fridays in the Central and Anglia television regions.

LincsPPN Web Administration (Source of information - Helena Edwards of the Leicestershire Polio Network)

5th April 1997

TREATING AND PREVENTING LATE-ONSET PROBLEMS IN POLIO SURVIVORS on HSTN

On April 28, 1997, Health & Sciences Television Network [USA only - LincsPPN Web Administration] will broadcast the 30 minute program TREATING AND PREVENTING LATE-ONSET PROBLEMS IN POLIO SURVIVORS. Discussed will be the cause and treatment of Post-Polio Sequelae, with special focus on the unique problems polio survivors face when being admitted to hospital, and especially when they undergo surgery.

The program will be presented by Dr. Richard Bruno, Director of the Post-Polio Rehabilitation and Research at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, and Chairperson of the International Post-Polio Task Force, and Dr. Nancy Frick, Executive Director of Harvest Center in Hackensack New Jersey.

Drs. Bruno and Frick will discuss the need for pre-operative pulmonary function and swallowing evaluations, polio survivors' extreme sensitivity to curare-like and atropine-like drugs and especially the profound and prolonged effect of anesthetics - gaseous, local, and epidural.

Also discussed will be post-op respiratory management, preventing vomiting and choking, polio survivors' extreme sensitivity to cold, their need for more pain medication and the much longer time they require in hospital and for recovery at home.

Polio survivors profound psychological response to hospitalization, including fear of repetition of the abuses they experienced as children in hospital after polio, fear of dependency, their difficulty asking for help from staff and the danger of their "pushing through" pain and weakness will also be presented.

Contact the directors of nursing, surgery, anesthesia and medical education at your local hospitals and ask them to call 1-800-942-4786 to order HSTN and to tune in to TREATING AND PREVENTING LATE-ONSET PROBLEMS IN POLIO SURVIVORS on April 28.

The tape of this program and syllabus may also be made available to polio support groups if there is enough interest. Call HSTN and ask for the marketing director or program producer Byron Ebelt at 1-800-942-4786.

Source - notice distributed by AOL to Post-Polio 'interest groups' - 4th April 1997

Joni Mitchell 'finds long lost child'

"Joni Mitchell, the folk singer who found fame in the Sixties with songs such as Big Yellow Taxi, has finally found the child she put up for adoption more than 30 years ago, it was reported yesterday.

...Mitchell, now reportedly suffering from a recurrence of the polio that afflicted her as a child, employed a pair of private detectives a year ago to find her daughter but they ran into the strict secrecy laws in Canada surrounding adoptive parents."

For complete article by David Sapsted of New York see International News section of April 3rd edition of the Electronic Telegraph
Also a front page article in April 2nd edition of the Daily Express (UK National Newspaper)

26th March 1997

Oscars

Winning the Oscar for Best Short Documentary Monday night was, "Breathing Lessons" about a man¹ who spent most of his life in an iron lung because of polio -- and is now back in one.

And one of the Best Screenplay awards went to Billy Bob Thornton who wrote and starred in "Sling Blade."

When Tom Snyder interviewed Billy Bob a few weeks ago on television, he said the main character in the story was based on a boy in his hometown in rural Arkansas who had polio and who was kept in a shed in the yard and thrown food like he was an animal.

So much for the "good ole days"

Tom Walter - from The St. John's University Polio list

Note 1. Mark O'Brian, whose life and work "Breathing Lessons" describes, has his own web page. As well as background to the film it also includes his work as a Journalist and Poet. Highly Recommended. LincsPPN Web Site Administration.

Polio Survivor Advises GM on Car Design

According to a story from the AP today --

"Paul L. Ulrich, a 61-year-old GM engineer who survived childhood polio and uses a wheelchair, heads the automaker's Paragon Project team. He says aging baby boomers will insist on cars and trucks that take their diminished hearing, vision and physical abilities into consideration.

"Car buyers will get a chance to see the technology at the New York International Automobile Show, which opens to the public Saturday.

"Ulrich says about 50 million Americans today have some disability that can affect their vehicle use, either as a driver or passenger. The biggest single group is those people with arthritis - an estimated 38 million Americans.

"Ulrich said an arthritic team member helped GM design a new ignition switch as the group offered advice on a new generation of midsize sedans."

Tom Walter - from The St. John's University Polio list