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The story of Dr. Marny Eulberg, M.D. and polio survivor and
her experience with post polio syndrome.
Dr. Marny Eulberg:
Polio patient and MD
Like many of the medical professionals who have studied
the late effects of polio, Marny Eulberg is a polio survivor who began
experiencing late effects of polio about 25 years after successful
rehabilitation. Her commitment to helping other polio survivors led Dr.
Eulberg to a career as a primary care physician, and she helped establish
the Postpolio Clinic at Mercy Hospital in Denver, where she serves as
director. In her own words, here is a brief account of her efforts to
overcome polio and her continuing struggle against its late
effects.
"One day when I was 4, I noticed that my leg just didn't
work right. I had flu-like symptoms and, later, pain in my neck. My mother
called the family doctor, who said it was probably the flu. The following
Sunday, my mother kissed me and my 14-month-old sister, Vicky, good-bye
and left for church. When she returned an hour later, Vicky was unable to
walk. My mother decided that this was not an ordinary case of the
flu.
Both Vicky and I were taken to the local hospital, where the
diagnosis of polio was made. Some memories I have of the next six months
include the pungent smell of hot, wet wool from the Kenny hot packs, the
pleasant bubbles and comfort of the whirlpool, and seemingly endless hours
of trying to walk within the parallel bars in the hospital rehab facility.
I missed my family more than I could say.
I left the hospital six
months later with two great challenges. The first was a long leg brace
that locked at the knee and was used with crutches. The second was the
beginning of a desire for a career in medicine.
My parents launched
a decade-long campaign against my budding medical career; they pointed out
the difficulties of standing for long hours each day, through medical
residency and beyond, wearing a leg brace. That was a good point. But
whenever I thought of the doctors who had cared for me--intelligent, yes,
but very unapproachable, doing many procedures to me, with neither my
permission nor any attempt to explain the reasoning behind them--I vowed
that I would become a doctor who remembered and learned from my past.
I was accepted at the University of Arizona College of Medicine,
where I was determined to be as good as or better than most of the other
students. I asked for no favors and accepted no sympathy because of my
"handicap." I worked nights, 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., as a medical
technologist, 2-3 nights a week, to support myself through medical school.
I performed all the tasks expected of medical students, interns and
residents--including on one occasion standing in the OR for eight hours
straight during an open heart surgery. Following a family practice
residency at Mercy Medical Center in Denver, I returned to my hometown of
Hot Springs, S.D., but I found myself missing the life of a larger city,
and returned in August 1980 to begin my private practice there.
I
had done well without any assistive devices for about 25 years. Then, in
early spring of 1985, I stubbed my left toe and fell, bruising myself
badly. It occurred to me that I might break a bone if I fell again. But
when a colleague suggested I start using a short leg brace, my initial
reaction was, "No,! I am not going to wear a brace ever
again!"
Gentle nudging prompted me to design an experiment. I
decided I would count how many times a day I caught my toe and stumbled
when I wore the brace--proving to my colleague (and myself) that I did not
need the brace. The results, however, did not support my theory. I was
stumbling 5-10 times a day without the brace, and not at all with it. So I
began using it more and more.
During this time, I became very
interested in late effects of polio, such as I was experiencing, but found
it very difficult to find physicians who knew anything about polio. It
occurred to me that if I, a physician myself, was encountering so much
difficulty, other polio survivors were facing a serious challenge in
finding a physician to treat their symptoms. I began reading everything I
could find about postpolio syndrome, gait analysis, the principles of
bracing--mostly in the interests of my own care, but also to try and help
other survivors with similar problems.
Thus began the Postpolio
Clinic at Mercy Medical Center, where I work one day a week, and serve on
the family practice staff the rest of the time. I continue to wear a short
leg b race on my left leg at all times, and recently started using a
forearm crutch on the right when walking long distances. The theme of this
current chapter in my life is that of adapting to change, and I feel
fortunate to be realizing the dream I had so many years ago--to use my
experience to help others accept life as a polio survivor.
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