American History

My mom took my brother and me. We were walking down one of the lanes and coming the other way was another family, one of the kids was wearing leg braces, and I could feel the tension and anxiety in my mom. She explained it was likely polio. Everyone was staring at the poor kid and distancing themselves.

A few years later she got a phone call from Dr Gissen’s office that they had the vaccine. She literally grabbed us, ran out of the house, shoved us into the car, and drove us at breakneck speed across Westchester to get there.