The year was 1952 .....and in one moment that summer my life was changed forever. A dreaded virus was running rampant throughout the United States. Technically called infantile paralysis, this virus was more commonly known as polio. There had been sixty thousand documented cases and three thousand deaths that year, the last big epidemic before Dr. Jonas Salk discovered his vaccine. At fifteen years old I was diagnosed with this disease that the entire United States feared. My story is one of finding a way to overcome everyday problems posing monumental obstacles. After forty days in an iron lung; in an isolation ward for five months and eight months of rehabilitation, and being unable to use my arms and legs normally I had many challenges. Learning to walk again I married and had children but soon I was alone raising a six year old son and two year old daughter. It is my belief that my life has been what it was supposed to be. I believe I have lived life to the fullest and for that I am forever grateful for all the amazing people who helped me along the way and the amazing God who made it all possible Courage The measure of one's courage should not be judged alone by how tall a mountain is but also by how tall was the mountain to the one who climbed it. --Robert F Dieguez
