12 Years in Hospital

Two weeks before my second birthday in 1958 I was struck with polio (short for poliomyelitis). At that time only children older than 2 years of age were allowed to be vaccinated against this disease, so I just missed
The clinical picture of the disease is varied, there are two main types: the abortive type -which covers up to 90% of the infections - shows symptoms such as a temperature, headache, sore throat, vomiting and a general feeling of being unwell. This type of polio lasts about one to three days and is impossible to be diagnosed as polio. The severe form, however, starts without warning, with a high temperature, severe headache, neck stiffness, muscle pain and sensory problems and rapidly leads to the characteristic flaccid paralysis of certain muscles or muscle groups and the loss of reflexes. Which parts of the body are affected by the paralysis depends on the location of outbreak in the nervous system. The most feared complication is that of respiratory weakness that may occur from paralysis of respiratory muscles, or by damage to the respiratory centre in the medulla oblongata.

This is the type of polio that hit me. With the exception of the right hand, all extremities were affected by the paralysis, including the respiratory muscles. Within a short time I could not breathe any more, became blue, was rushed to Emergency of the Schwabing (Munich) hospital and put straight into the so-called "iron lung"

This equipment generates alternating high and low pressure, which causes compression of the thorax, i.e. air is pressed into and squeezed out of the lungs, the body is so-to-speak forced to breathe. For a long time, I spent 24 hours a day in this monstrous metal box, the body hermetically sealed, with only the head outside. A narrow cuff wrapped around the neck prevented air escaping from the chamber

I was about 4 years old when they started turning off the unit for short periods at a time to see how I reacted. I quickly panicked, was scared to death, felt helpless. But one day I gasped desperately for air and miraculously, I managed to squeeze vital oxygen through the larynx into the lungs. So I learned the so-called "frog breathing" method , a strenuous, arduous way of breathing without the support of my paralysed diaphragm. It took years before I managed to stay outside the iron lung for more than two to three hours a day.

There were about 15 children in the polio ward, sometimes more, sometimes less. Most of those who were hit as badly as I was, died . It was commonplace for me that a child was taken out of the room and never came back. But I wanted to live - and the small group of us that was left, wished to be kept busy.

A teacher was employed and we were enrolled in the ‘hospital school’ . With the ‘school bag’ (a typical German way of starting the first day at school, this bag was filled with sweets and cookies) we - the six to eight year olds started lessons , 2 to 3 hours a day, depending on how long we could stand it; we were taught reading, writing and arithmetic .

I was 14 years old when I was able to leave the hospital. A life without people in white coats was unimaginable for me, but I was curious
to see the world outside.